Paul Finebaum can’t seem to wrap his head around a Jim Harbaugh-coached Michigan football team.
For years, the ESPN SEC plaudit trashed Harbaugh and the Wolverines, only to come around on Michigan after the 2021 season. However, the sign-stealing drama of this year created another opening for Finebaum to go back and criticize the maize and blue again.
He said earlier in the season that any national championship for the Wolverines would be tainted, with an asterisk next to Michigan’s name. However, after being around the program for a week at the Rose Bowl and witnessing the maize and blue’s big win over the SEC darlings, the Alabama Crimson Tide, Finebaum says there will be no asterisk next to Michigan’s title should it win on Monday.
“I would say they won it legitimately and congratulations to the best team in college football, hail to the victors,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “I said a lot of those things and I said it right here to you. But after spending a week around the Michigan program, I came away with a different view. These young players — Corum, McCarthy — these guys had nothing to do with whatever happened in this program. They are really the epitome of what you expect a college program to be.”
Finebaum has completely reversed course on Jim Harbaugh (again), but his praise comes with a caveat.
.@finebaum says Harbaugh OUTCOACHED Saban 👀 pic.twitter.com/qP73YmPjF6
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 2, 2024
On Wednesday, Finebaum stated, also on “Get Up” that he’s confident Harbaugh will coach his last game with Michigan football on Monday because Finebaum is certain Harbaugh is heading to the NFL. That’s not a new accusation. While it’s far from certain Harbaugh will roam the sidelines in Ann Arbor next season, no one actually knows or has any true bead on what Harbaugh will do — except for Jim Harbaugh.
But one thing is for sure: if anyone does have a bead on what Jim Harbaugh will do, it’s certainly not Paul Finebaum. Still, with the SEC analyst, you win some and you lose some.