JJ McCarthy and Blake Corum are both declaring for the NFL draft.
That will make it harder for Michigan to repeat as NC. Whether it will impact Harbaugh’s staying with the team is to be seen.
Mike Nolan
Harbaugh is being contacted by the Chargers, other teams may do the same.
Not surprising that both McCarthy and Corum are entering the draft.
Corum is a senior. Don’t know about his graduation status or whether or not he has another year of eligibility because of the crazy Covid rules. But he accomplished all that he set out to accomplish when he passed on the draft last year.
McCarthy is projected to be a first round choice and in the top five QB’s available. So common wisdom in the pre-NIL days was that when your draft stock is that high, you should take advantage of it.
McCarthy is making $1.4M in NIL money. He gives some of that money (through his charity) to Children’s Hospitals in cities where UoM plays as well as Mott (the Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor). He also gives a fair amount of his NIL money to his offensive linemen.
Richardson was the third QB taken in the draft last year and the last one in the first round. His guaranteed signing bonus was $21.72M paid up front. While McCarthy’s $1.4M NIL money (likely to go up in 2024) is a significant amount of money for a 20 year old. $20M is financial independence. But that independence comes with a significant risk of long term mental impairment. For his sake, because he seems like a really good kid, I hope he ends up being a back-up QB who rarely sees the field. Something like Kafka. 5 years as a journey man backup and then 6 years with Andy Reid coaching Mahomes, two years OC with the Giants, and now in the hunt for a HC position.
As far as Harbaugh is concerned, the Chargers need someone. It is really whether or not they are going to be willing to spend the money and give up the control that Harbaugh is said to be looking for. You can certainly make the argument that Harbaugh has accomplished all of his goals at Michigan, but it is also true that after winning the NC, he will likely be able to stay at Michigan for as long as he likes as one of the highest paid college coaches in the country. Lloyd Carr coached another 10 years after winning the NC in 1997 even though his teams got no closer than 5th in national polls. He was allowed to gracefully retire at the ripe old age of 62.
Jeff
During the Green Bay - Dallas game they were suggesting that if Dallas lost, the Cowboys might fire their head coach. But there’s no way Jerry Jones would hire Harbaugh.
I think McCarthy is gone. I see the “Hoodie”, Mr. Belichick as the next Dallas HC.
Paul H. Levinson
Regarding Harbaugh: I wouldn’t be surprised to see him or Belichick hired by Dallas.
Owner Jerry Jones is infuriated by the Cowboys continuous poor showing in the post season and May go for it all, paying whatever it takes to get a coach who could potentially take the Cowboys to a title this coming season. The franchise has an estimated value of $8-9 billion; what is paying an extra $5mm/ year even for 6-7 year deal do to hurt its value? !
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jones tell whomever is in charge that he is ok trading Dak if they can get a different top of the line stating QB ( not likely , but he would be open if it could be pulled off). I m sure Jones feels that Dak was a big reason for their downfall the past few post seasons , though getting a top HC to replace your current coach is a lot easier than replacing a top QB simply with money
Harry
Just out of curiosity, I wanted to see how HC compensation compares between college and the NFL.
Saban was paid $11M by Alabama and earned another $5M in endorsements.
Belichick made $20M in salary. His endorsement income is harder to figure, but estimates are that NFL coaches average another $5M in endorsements.
Jeff
Not much surprises me with Jerry Jones anymore, but he doesn’t seem to be a good match with either Harbaugh or Belichick. I hear Atlanta is really gunning for Belichick.