After a 2-4 season in the 2020 COVID year, the buzzards were circling around Jim Harbaugh who hadn’t delivered a victory over Ohio State, let alone a division title. Michigan was arguably the biggest name in the Big Ten who hadn’t played in the championship game in Indianapolis. Harbaugh ended up taking a major paycut to save his job, going from the Big Ten’s highest paid coach to eighth.
And it paid off for both parties in 2021 as Michigan won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff, losing to eventual national champion Georgia in the Orange Bowl.