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Harbaugh
says
he’s
staying
at
Michigan,
not
returning
to NFL
By
LARRY
LAGE
APNews.com
ANN
ARBOR,
MI Jim
Harbaugh
insisted
he is
staying
at
Michigan.
Responding
to
speculation
he’s
returning
to the
NFL, the
former
San
Francisco
49ers
coach
told
ESPN he
is not
going
anywhere
.
“This is
a
choreographed
message
that
comes up
at this
time
every
year
before
signing
day,”
Harbaugh
told
ESPN.
“It’s
people
spreading
messages
to
further
their
own
personal
agenda.
But I’m
on
record
right
here,
right
now: I’m
not
going
anywhere.
I’m
staying
at
Michigan.
We have
big
plans
here,
and
there’s
a lot we
want to
accomplish.”
Former
Ohio
State
star
receiver
and Fox
Sports
analyst
Cris
Carter
has said
Harbaugh
is a
potential
candidate
to lead
the
Green
Bay
Packers
and
Cleveland
Browns.
After
Harbaugh
and the
eighth-ranked
Wolverines
were
celebrated
Sunday
at a
banquet,
he
didn’t
want to
discuss
the
topic
much at
a
previously
scheduled
news
conference
to
promote
the
team’s
appearance
in the
Peach
Bowl.
Why
did he
address
it with
ESPN?
“To
make a
statement
of it,
to go on
record
and not
be asked
anymore
after
that by
people
who like
to yap
and ask
questions,”
Harbaugh
told
reporters.
Michigan
won 10
games
this
season
for the
third
time
under
Harbaugh
but
dropped
to 0-4
against
the
rival
Buckeyes
and fell
out of
the Big
Ten and
national
championship
races.
The
Wolverines
face No.
10
Florida
on Dec.
29 in
the
Peach
Bowl.
Harbaugh,
who is
38-13 at
Michigan,
is in
the
fourth
year of
a
seven-year
contract
with a
compensation
package
that
gives
him more
than $7
million
per
year. He
returned
nearly
four
years
ago to
the
school
where he
was a
star
quarterback
after
going
44-19-1
with the
49ers,
winning
the 2012
NFC
championship.
“I’m
so happy
that
he’s our
coach,”
Michigan
athletic
director
Warde
Manuel
said.
“And I
look
forward
to him
coaching,
as I
said
before,
until he
retires
from
Michigan
and ends
his
career
here.”
Manuel
said it
is a
credit
to
Harbaugh
that his
name is
often
mentioned
to fill
openings
in the
NFL.
“Jim
is one
of the
greatest
coaches
—
college
or pro,”
Manuel
said.
Wolverines
quarterback
Shea
Patterson
said he
hasn’t
thought
about
whether
he will
stay in
school
or pro,
adding
he plans
to talk
about
his
future
with
Harbaugh
and his
family.
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