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Jim Harbaugh’s ‘credibility will be shattered’ with losses to Penn State, Notre Dame according to Paul Finebaum
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It didn’t take long for Paul Finebaum to turn on Jim Harbaugh again. At the halfway point of the season, the SEC Network host thinks the Michigan head coach’s credibility could be at risk the next two weeks.
Considering how critical Finebaum has been of him over the last five seasons, it’s hard to believe he thinks Harbaugh has any credibility remaining. Nonetheless, Finebaum paints a pretty bleak picture for the future of the head coach should he drop games to Penn State and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks.
“If he loses Saturday night and then goes home and loses to Notre Dame, I think Jim Harbaugh’s credibility is going to be shattered,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s Get Up. “I’m not saying they’ll fire him, they say they don’t want to fire him. They almost gave him a lifetime contract a couple years ago. But I don’t think he’ll be able to go anywhere in college football with credibility, because the perception will be he has no chance of being successful.”
Harbaugh has won 10 games in three of his four seasons at Michigan, but has never won a division title or defeated Ohio State — the two biggest knocks on his tenure in Ann Arbor. A 35-14 loss to Wisconsin earlier this season didn’t do him any favors, either.
It is a little strange that Finebaum says Harbaugh “wouldn’t be able to go anywhere in college football with credibility,” as if he plans to leave Michigan. If UM doesn’t plan on terminating Harbaugh, it’s unlikely he’d be looking for another job anywhere else, anyway.
Nonetheless, the next two games for Michigan and Harbaugh are significant in terms of the B1G East race and the College Football Playoff picture. If the Wolverines can find a way to grind out two victories, they’re exactly where they want to be heading into November.
If not, things may get a little dicey in Ann Arbor.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB