Jim Harbaugh built his career on the game of football, first as a player and now as a coach. But what if the 59-year-old Harbaugh, approaching his ninth season as Michigan coach, had pursued another skilled trade? Tending to lawns would be Harbaugh's preferred choice, as he revealed in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.
"[I would be] a lawnsman!" Harbaugh told SI. "That's what I do. Mowing the lawn is one of the great feelings I have in life."
After reportedly making north of $10 million at Michigan in 2022, Harbaugh is hardly one who needs to mow his lawn by necessity. But in college football, any competitive edge is welcomed. And the two-time Big Ten champion Wolverines coach says mowing his lawn himself has some benefits pertaining to his coaching ability, all while he can save a buck or two.
"It accomplishes three things," Harbaugh continued. "I'm clearing my mind or thinking of new plays; I feel good about what I accomplish; and I either make money or I save money."
But it would appear not everyone in Harbaugh's neck of the woods receives that same satisfaction from moving their lawns. Harbaugh, according to SI, subsequently voiced dismay over what he claims is a growing number of Ann Arbor, Michigan, residents enlisting the services of landscaping companies. Harbaugh said he frequently encountered residents -- namely, children -- mowing their lawns when he first took the Michigan job, but that's no longer the case.
"It makes me sad sometimes when I drive around Ann Arbor," Harbaugh told SI. "It used to be kids mowing the lawns. I was that kid, out mowing lawns, earning some money. Now it's a truck and a crew at every house."
All said, the greatest concern for Harbaugh when it comes to turf is what happens on the football field this fall. Michigan is once again expected to be a player in the College Football Playoff conversation, as the Wolverines enter 2023 as the two-time defending Big Ten champions. Yet, the ultimate goal of a CFP title remains elusive for Harbaugh's regime.
Michigan mowed its way through its first 13 games of 2022, riding a 13-0 start to a repeat Big Ten title and a CFP berth. But the Wolverines slipped up in what was their first and only contest played on a natural grass field in 2022, suffering a 51-45 loss to TCU during the CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl. It marked the second straight season in which Michigan fell in the semis, losing to Georgia a year prior in the CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl.
For his career, Harbaugh is 132-52 as a college coach, including a 74-25 mark at Michigan. His Power Five credentials also include a four-season run as Stanford coach from 2007-10, where he led the Cardinal to 12 wins and an AP No. 4 finish in 2010 before departing to coach the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco reached at least the NFC Championship game in three of its four years under Harbaugh -- that included a Super Bowl appearance in 2012 -- before Harbaugh left for Michigan.
