Jim Harbaugh’s self-serving letter seen as chance to equal playing field with Ohio State

Jim Harbaugh’s open letter to the football community to challenge NFL eligibility is an attempt to level the playing field with Ohio State.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh sent an “open letter” to the football community Thursday, and many are lauding it as a good idea. We won’t take you through the lengthy piece that is at least more coherent than the press conferences he holds, but it basically pushes for college football players to be able to go to the NFL immediately, rather than waiting until they are eligible to do so.

Under current NFL rules, a prospect must be three years removed from high school to be eligible to enter the NFL draft. Harbaugh argues that college baseball and hockey have already changed, and that basketball is close to doing the same. So too, should the NFL and college football.

It’s all in the interest of empowering the college athlete.

Bologna.

The real motive

Let’s call this what it is — Harbaugh’s intent to level the playing field for his program that can’t compete with others that get more four and five-star recruits. It’s no secret that perhaps no program would be hurt more by a move to allow the very best high school football players to go straight to the NFL than his Darth Vader — Ohio State. The one that’s blasted his program into oblivion the last two decades.

You can read the full letter below.

Sure, others like the Clemsons, Alabamas, and Oklahomas of the world would be hurt too, but he simply can’t get by the top dog in the league because the talent gap is so great. You know, coaching and all being equal.

The timing of it all

It’s also no coincidence that this letter comes out as Michigan struggles to recruit with Ohio State, and has now lost eight straight to the Buckeyes who show no sign of slowing down. Harbaugh is now 0-5 against his main rival to the south and feeling the heat. He’s tired of getting a super wedgie administered to him by Urban Meyer, and now Ryan Day.

The OSU program also figures to benefit from the recent move toward compensation for college athlete’s name, image, and likeness (NIL). Ohio State is situated in a large city where it’s the king of athletics in town. The endorsement and compensation opportunities of a program in that setting — especially with one of the biggest followings and fanbases in the country — will only cement its place among the best in the sport.

It would be one thing if this message was coming from a Lincoln Riley, Dabo Swinney, or Nick Saban. To be fair, nobody in the penthouse of the sport is going to go this way for similar reasons. They have the competitive advantage and would love to keep it that way. So yeah, let’s not turn a blind eye to that.

Truth be known, there’s probably a part of Mr. Khakis that has the college athlete in mind, but let’s not pretend like the benefits of this move wouldn’t help the maize and blue’s chances of being more relevant.

We’ve seen similar things before from Harbaugh

Harbaugh has tried to change the Matrix to fit his needs before. From sleeping over at recruit’s houses, to holding satellite camps in the heart of SEC country, to taking “educational” trips to exotic locations, it’s all a game to try and find loopholes, or tweak things for a recruiting advantage. They’re all creative and even great ideas on his part, but there’s a motive. Some of it worked at first, but now the momentum is waning as the program fails to turn the corner.

Time to move onto something else.

And here it is. Time to take some of those great athletes that aren’t flocking to Ann Arbor and move them away from Columbus, Tuscaloosa, and Happy Valley — sending them on a flight to the NFL without any layovers in big-time college football, a stop Ann Arbor is no longer in the flight plan of.

If you can’t find a loophole or creative way to play the game on the fringe of what’s allowed, change the game.

Turn the thing on its head so you can compete again — right Jim?