With expensive off-season moves, Michigan sends loud and clear message

The final bill will be unprecedented.

Sending the entire Michigan football team to Rome will be off-the-charts expensive. Eventually, the numbers of the trip will come out and we’ll all probably think the same thing.

Daaaaaaaaaaang. That’s a lot of paper.

Paying three Michigan assistants $1 million annually will be off the charts expensive. Eventually, the USA Today report about assistant coaches budgets will come out and we’ll all probably think the same thing.

Daaaaaaaaaaang. That’s a lot of paper.

As long as Harbaugh is in Ann Arbor, those words will be said often. Sure, Michigan has had big, splashy off-seasons before. A blue-blood program spending gobs of money isn’t news. Find a photo gallery of the top facilities in the country and that’ll become clear.

The financial commitment the Wolverines made this off-season wasn’t a program just spending money because it has it. This is uncharted territory, even for Michigan. The stakes have never been higher and the margin for error has never been slimmer. The message made from those moves was simple.

Spare no expense. Just win titles. Now.

Michigan is doing things differently because it has to. The program can no longer pound its chest and brag about pre-World War II national titles. Harbaugh knew that when he took the job. He made administration realize it, too.

The idea of taking an entire football team to Rome for a week doesn’t come from the athletic director. Hand-picking assistants and giving them seven-figure deals isn’t the result of some booster. This is Harbaugh doing things his way with essentially a blank check. Nobody is saying ‘no’ to him.

And frankly, why should they? Harbaugh came into Ann Arbor and led the Wolverines to double-digit wins for the first time since 2003. Michigan is the fourth program he turned around, but it’s the first place where he’s been given this kind of financial freedom.

That’s why the idea of him going back to the NFL is comical. This is the perfect storm for him.

Michigan hasn’t won a B1G title since 2004 and is tired of hearing about it. With the ever-increasing TV revenue and the Air Jordan deal, Michigan can justify breaking the bank to finance Harbaugh’s visions. Whether that’s shelling out $1 million a year for a quarterbacks coach or spreading the Michigan brand overseas, administration acknowledged the program is in win-now mode.

Wait, but isn’t every program in win-now mode?

Yes, but the Wolverines’ situation is different. Michigan has a window it must capitalize on. That window is now.

If Harbaugh doesn’t start winning B1G titles soon, this whole thing can blow up in a hurry. Ten-win seasons are nice, but spending like that to finish third in the division — one win more than Iowa and Minnesota — won’t help Michigan’s brand. It won’t help Harbaugh’s brand, either.

This whole Harbaugh experiment began with the goal of competing with the likes of Alabama and Ohio State. That’s why Harbaugh spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for satellite camps in SEC country.

The term “buy a title” in college sports often has a negative ring to it. It usually implies boosters are trying to pay the top recruits in the country. It’s been done before and it’s probably being done somewhere now.

Michigan is essentially trying to “buy a title,” but in a different way. That’ll still rub people the wrong way, not that Harbaugh or any Michigan fan will care.

This isn’t the time to worry about hurt feelings or being financially efficient. This is the time when Michigan needs to establish its championship foundation for years to come. Coaching and recruiting are what great programs are built on. If you don’t believe that, take a look at five-time national champion Nick Saban and his six straight No. 1 recruiting classes.

You won’t see Alabama or Ohio State taking trips to Rome anytime soon because they don’t have to. They have a formula that works. Michigan’s formula has to be different. And the way Harbaugh sees it, this is how to get on their level.

If Michigan were to win a national title with Harbaugh, it would be worth every extra penny spent. He’d get a blank check to stay in Ann Arbor as long as he wanted, prompting the same reaction many had to Michigan’s off-season.

Daaaaaaaaaaang. That’s a lot of paper.