Bad Day For Buckeyes - Jim Harbaugh To Stay At Michigan, QB C.J. Stroud Exits Ohio State

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It was a bad day to be a Buckeye.

First, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud decided to enter the NFL Draft on Monday - the last day to declare after leaving Buckeye fans with false hopes for days and weeks.

Then, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who has defeated Ohio State twice in a row now by double digits, decided to forego any possible NFL opportunities and stay at Michigan.

Michigan president Santo Ono said Monday afternoon that Harbaugh would be returning for the 2023 season after considering a possible move to the NFL for the second straight year.

"I just got off the phone with Coach Harbaugh, and Jim shared with me the great news that he is going to remain as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines," Ono said on Twitter. "That is fantastic news that I have communicated to our athletic director Wade Manuel. Go Blue."

Jim Harbaugh

Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates during his team's win over Purdue in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 3 of this season at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Getty Images)

Jim Harbaugh Interviewed With Minnesota Vikings Last Year

Harbaugh interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching job after the 2021 season, but he did not receive an offer. Minnesota instead hired Kevin O'Connell, who took the Vikings to the playoffs. Harbaugh interviewed for the Denver Broncos head coaching job last week. And again, he did not get an offer.

This may be because Harbaugh is seen as a headache by management in NFL circles. He tends to want to control everything.

A Proven, Winning Coach In The NFL

Still, Harbaugh took the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in the 2012 season before losing to his brother John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens. After regular seasons of 13-3, 11-4-1 and 12-4 and three NFC Championship Games, he fell to 8-8 at San Francisco in the 2014 season.

Michigan hired Harbaugh following the 2014 season. After losing to Ohio State in his first five tries, he has beaten Ohio State the last two straight years by 42-27 and 45-23 and reached the College Football Playoff each time. His popularity is rising like his salary.

JIM HARBAUGH ONCE THOUGHT HE WAS ON THE WAY OUT AT MICHIGAN

Harbaugh agreed to a new, $37-million, five-year contract last February after putting his name out there for NFL jobs. He made $7.05 million in 2022. He will make $7.63 million in his last year of the deal in 2026 - if he sticks around.

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Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.