Joel Klatt names greatest coach in Michigan history after Jim Harbaugh's departure: "Cannot argue with what this guy has done"

Jim Harbaugh has left Ann Arbor after nine seasons as the Michigan Wolverines coach. He left to join the NFL after fulfilling his dream of winning a national championship. Does that make him the greatest coach of the program?

As per CFB analyst Joel Klatt, an argument can be made that Harbaugh has left Ann Arbor as the greatest coach in the program's history. On his 'The Joel Klatt Show', he made a comparison between Harbaugh and previous Michigan coaches like Bo Schembechler, Llyod Carr and Fielding Yost.

According to Klatt's argument, Schembechler never won a national championship. He agrees that Fielding Yost and Lloyd Carr won national championships with Michigan, but Harbaugh achieved the difficult task of going down as undefeated national champions with a 15-0 record in the modern era of college football. That's reason enough for him to go down as a Michigan coaching legend.

"You cannot argue with what this guy has done, and because of that he will go down as Michigan man, a Michigan legend, and in many cases will be considered as the greatest coach in their history. I know they've got Fielding Yost. I get it they got BO Schembechler. Schembechler never won a national championship. Yes Lloyd Carr won a national championship.

"But Jim came back to resurrect them back to what they were. An then he went to a place that many believed was an impossible place to get. 15-0 in modern college football and winning the national championship? Beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl? The guy is going to go down as a legend."

Klatt has a valid argument for Harbaugh when talking about the modern era of college football.

Fielding Yost led the Wolverines to four national championships, from 1901 to 1904, and two more in 1918 and 1923. But Harbaugh resurrected the reputation of the program in the modern era.

Before him, Brady Hoke was the coach for four seasons from 2011 to 2014. During that time the Wolverines were a pretty average team. After Harbaugh took over, he led them to a Big Ten three-peat (2021-23) and closed out his tenure with a national championship.

Hence, the 60-year-old has raised the level of expectation from his successor Sherrone Moore in Ann Arbor, who was recently appointed the new coach.

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Jim Harbaugh's next goal in his coaching career

Jim Harbaugh is not new to the NFL coaching scene. Before joining the Wolverines, he was the coach of the San Fransisco 49ers for four seasons (2011-14).

During his 49ers stint, he led them to an appearance in the Super Bowl XLVII, where he lost to his brother John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens. For Jim Harbaugh, his next achievement will be to fulfill his dream of adding a Super Bowl trophy to his list of accolades.

Will he be successful in that in his stint with the Los Angeles Chargers?