Jim Harbaugh was in dire trouble heading into the 2021 season. After having lost to the Ohio State football team every time he’d faced them, and coming off a disastrous 2020 season, his job seemed in peril. Then, he was able to turn around his fortunes with one win.
After beating Ohio State in 2021 and making the College Football Playoff for the first time, Harbaugh was suddenly the toast of Ann Arbor. He tried to use that momentum to parlay a job into the NFL. Only after learning the Vikings were the latest NFL team not interested did he return to Michigan.