Michigan Simply Needs to Move on From Jim Harbaugh After Embarrassing Citrus Bowl Loss to Alabama

Let's get the praise out of the way first. Jim Harbaugh is MUCH better than Rich Rodriguez or Brady Hoke given how he has the Michigan program back to being a force in the Big Ten again. However, Harbuagh has yet to win the big game for the Wolverines.

After getting squashed by Alabama in the Citrus Bowl, Harbaugh falls to 47-18 overall, 1-4 in bowl games, and 0-5 against Ohio State. That's just not going to cut it.

This could (and should) be the end of the line in Ann Arbor for Harbaugh.

While Michigan was in the dumps after a few lousy seasons with Rodriguez and Hoke, it's almost impossible to keep a program of that magnitude dormant for too long. Harbaugh was brought in to beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and get into the playoff.

We're half a decade into his reign at Michigan, and he has yet to do any of those things. Failing to beat Michigan got John Cooper, a much better coach, canned at Ohio State, and the same rationale should be applied to Harbaugh.

Look, we know Alabama is good, but this team was missing its starting QB and a number of key defenders. Not to mention, Henry Ruggs left the Citrus Bowl early, and that apparently only helped the Crimson Tide offense. How can you not keep this game closer? A 35-16 loss is atrocious, especially when you score zero second-half points.

While Michigan doesn't have a ton of silverware in the trophy case, as Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr combined for exactly one shared national championship in from 1969-2007, they were routinely right there with the best teams in the country, not a doormat that gets trounced every bowl season. Harbaugh can win eight games in his sleep, but is that really enough for Michigan AD Warde Manuel to keep him around?

It shouldn't be.