Paul Finebaum makes definitive case for Jim Harbaugh to leave Michigan for NFL

When a team is getting ready to play for a national championship, there are always distractions. However, that’s especially true for Michigan as rumors swirl that head coach Jim Harbaugh will be leaving for the NFL following the season.

Paul Finebaum made an appearance on Get Up the Wednesday before the championship game where he made the definitive case for Harbaugh to leave Michigan for the NFL after the game.

“Well, number one, he’s already accomplished what he set out to do, and that’s make Michigan relevant again,” Paul Finebaum said. “Three straight Playoff appearances and a national title game is relevant.”

Beyond having nothing left to accomplish or prove at Michigan, Paul Finebaum also emphasized that there might be some very practical reasons for him to leave as soon as possible. The most notable of those is that there are likely more penalties coming from the NCAA.

“But that’s not the real reason. He’s got the NCAA around the corner, and people are saying, ‘Hasn’t the NCAA already been there?’ Yeah, we know the narrative. He was suspended twice this year. Six games. But the NCAA is looking into all of these allegations in one box and there’s a lot of speculation that Jim Harbaugh could get suspended again next year,” Finebaum said.

“So, it’s pretty simple, if you have a shot at four NFL franchises and they’re coveting you, and on the other hand, you’re facing the NCAA. You’ve already accomplished pretty much everything you’ve set out to do. It’s a very easy answer. He is leaving Michigan after next Monday night.”

Prior to coaching at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. There, he took San Francisco to a Super Bowl, where he lost to his brother John Harbaugh.

Paul Finebaum says Jim Harbaugh would be a fool to stay at Michigan

Amid all of these rumors about Jim Harbaugh’s future, Paul Finebaum said that he thinks Harbaugh would be a fool if he stayed at Michigan. Again, he cited potential future NCAA actions as the reason why.

“Harbaugh is very likely to leave, because it’s very possible the NCAA has already pre-determined they are going to get him, and he would be foolish to turn down the kind of money that he can make next Tuesday, a week from today, to risk going through the process. He knows what he’s done or what he hasn’t done, but he’s going to leave,” Finebaum said.

“Michigan fans were screaming at me — I was at the Tournament of Roses parade yesterday. The SEC group had a float. I mean I was harassed. You’re not supposed to get booed at the Tournament of Roses parade. But I was, because Michigan fans were hating. And that’s fine. They can hate anybody they want, but the point is is we didn’t do what Jim Harbaugh and Connor Stalions are accused of doing — or at least Connor Stalions because they’ve managed to get Jim out of it. But he would be a fool to stay. And he’s not a fool. He’s going to get out of there.”