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Jim Harbaugh has had quite a storied career both as a player and a coach. He has had tenures as head coach both in the NFL and college football, but he is on his way to breaking an unenviable record this coming season.
During his time as Michigan's head coach, Harbaugh has managed to beat arch-rivals Ohio State twice and has a decent 74-25 record. But his bowl record is less than impressive.
Since his first bowl appearance during his time as Stanford's head coach, which was a loss to Oklahoma in 2009, his record reads 2-7. Should he lose another bowl game, it will make his bowl record the worst in CFB history!
Jim Harbaugh has lost the Wolverine's last two bowl games against TCU and Georgia. He lost 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl to TCU last season and 34-11 to Kirby Smart's Georgia in the Orange Bowl the season before last.
The first of his only two bowl wins came in 2010 as Stanford's head coach in the Orange Bowl versus Virginia Tech. The other one came in 2015 as Michigan coach when he won in the Citrus Bowl against Florida.
Jim Harbaugh Bowl record vs. SEC Teams
Although the Michigan head coach boasts a phenomenal conference record with the Wolverines, Harbaugh has faced many obstacles when it comes to the post season.
As mentioned above, Harbaugh's 2-7 record contains five games against SEC opponents. Out of the five games, Michigan has only been able to come out on top once, losing the other four. Here's a complete breakdown of all of his five encounters against SEC opponents.
What is Michigan's bowl record vs. SEC?
While Michigan is 14-11 all time against SEC teams, the record also includes a 8-9 record in bowl games. With their first matchup happening all the way back in 1984 in the Sugar Bowl, Michigan has shown signs of struggle when it comes to matchups against SEC teams.
Here's a complete list of Michigan's bowl games against SEC opponents.
Harbaugh is facing a four-game suspension during the upcoming season for not cooperating with an NCAA investigation. The investigation is tied to recruitment practices, a level I violation.
Allegedly, during the dead recruitment period when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, Michigan was deemed to have committed four level II violations related to recruitment.
Jim Harbaugh's NFL coaching legacy
Jim Harbaugh revitalized the San Francisco 49ers who had eight consecutive losing seasons until his arrival. He led them to three conference title games and to the Super Bowl XLVII in 2011.
Even with his appalling bowl record, speculation mounted last year that Jim Harbaugh was being considered for a return to the NFL. He was linked to teams like the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, and Indianapolis Colts.
After Michigan's loss to national champions Georgia, he held talks with the Vikings and admitted as much.
“Yeah, explored it. I don’t apologize for exploring it, and I don’t apologize for wanting to come back and be the head football coach at the University of Michigan.”
During his time as head coach of the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh had a 44-19 record and also appeared in three NFC title games. If he can avoid the Bowl curse this season, he will feel like he has dodged a bullet.
