Harbaugh: Title would indicate so much to many

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Personnel WriterJan 7, 2024, 12:20 PM ET

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• Covers the Pac-12.
• Joined ESPN in 2014.
• Participated In Washington State University.HOUSTON– For Michigan coach Jim

Harbaugh, a win versus Washington in the College Football Playoff Championship Game on Monday would be an “overwhelming “experience due to the fact that of the number of individuals it would affect.

“It would imply so much for our players, for them to know what it’s like to be champs,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “Just be merely described as national champs.

“And for their moms and dads to have their son be a champ, a national champion; for their grandparents to have a grandson; for their siblings and sisters to have a brother who is a [nationwide champion]”

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Harbaugh minimized the idea that he cared about how the win would affect his tradition however acknowledged he cares deeply about how his household would have the ability to revel in a Wolverines title.

“What it would suggest to me, for my kids to know their daddy is a nationwide champion and for my parents and my bro and my sibling,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the frustrating thing, just that many people would have the ability to delight in that, belong of that.

“For my better half, for her hubby to be a national champ. For me, not so much, but for everybody else, yeah, that would be huge.”

Harbaugh, in his ninth season as the Michigan coach, has actually formerly been named the NFL Coach of the Year and the AP College Football Coach of the Year. But he has yet to coach a team beyond a conference or department title in four head-coaching stops (FCS San Diego, Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and Michigan).

Harbaugh and Washington coach Kalen DeBoer took turns throughout the coaches news conference Sunday trading compliments about each other’s programs in what ended up being a workout in civility.Asked about what

his message would be to his players if he were to leave for a NFL job, Harbaugh neglected the premise, rather choosing to speak to the message entering into the game.”I can’t wait to see them complete, view them have at it,” he said. “That’s going to be my frustrating feeling is, let’s just go let it rip.”

Without missing out on a beat, he moved into a fast rundown of Washington, calling the teams “mirror images” of each other in how extensive they are.

“Actually feel like these are the 2 finest teams,” Harbaugh said. “They’re the last 2 standing.”

While concerns linger about Harbaugh’s future with Michigan, DeBoer’s period at Washington is in its early days. After acquiring a group that went 4-8 in 2021, DeBoer has gone 25-2 in his 2 seasons with the Huskies.

“I think the group, each win, has been commemorated on rather of a level, because I make sure they do that because it’s truly tough to win a college football game,” DeBoer said. “However it’s been this actually even-keel type of mentality and just knowing that the work’s refrained from doing– the task’s refrained from doing– and we’re going to celebrate the win. But the next game’s the most important.”