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AD says he wants Jim Harbaugh at Michigan until he retires

College Football, Michigan Wolverines

Jim Harbaugh has never won a Big Ten title and hasn't defeated Ohio State since becoming Michigan's football coach in 2015.

But if any Wolverines fans are unhappy with Harbaugh, athletic director Warde Manuel is not one of them.

Manuel, speaking Tuesday at a meeting of Big Ten athletic directors, says he wants Harbaugh and basketball coach John Beilein to stay at Michigan until they're ready to retire.

"I love my coaches across the board, love those two guys in particular," Manuel said. "I'm extremely pleased with where we are from a staffing, coaching standpoint and Jim and John are two people that I would love to see retire from this institution, retire from coaching. 

"Jim ... knows how I feel about him. We've had great conversations and I don't want him to go anywhere."

Harbaugh, 54, is 28-11 as Wolverines coach. He's entering the fourth season of a seven-year contract he signed in December 2014.

Harbaugh's original deal called for $5 million a year in salary, but with bonuses and $2 million in life insurance, his total compensation in 2016 was $7 million, third highest in the country behind Alabama's Nick Saban and Clemson's Dabo Swinney, and just ahead of Ohio State's Urban Meyer.

Manuel said he is in the process of finalizing a new contract for Beilein, who took the Wolverines to the national title game this season.

Beilein, 65, makes $3.37 million a year on a contract that extends through 2020-21. That put him ninth nationally, and third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State's Chris Holtmann and Michigan State's Tom Izzo.

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