The Jim Harbaugh freight train arrived in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, much to the delight of the Michigan faithful. It was a joyous day for the Maize and Blue to welcome their beloved son home, and I can't think of a better person suited to fix the present situation at the program than the former 49ers coach.
Even though it's a loss for the NFL community -- and especially San Francisco -- it's good to have the intense former signal-caller back in the college ranks. That he's trying to elevate one of the sport's historic powers back to yearly prominence is good for all involved, even rival Ohio State fans and especially the Big Ten as a whole.
"I want to do a good job. I want to be good. I want to win. I want to win at practice. We want to win in the classroom. We want to win in the community. We want to win on fall Saturday afternoons," Harbaugh said during his introductory press conference. "We'll have great expectations for that."
Still, one way or another, he is eventually going to disappoint Michigan fans by going back to the NFL. Wolverines fans are over the moon at the moment and will lash out at such a premise considering how much has been invested in his return. But the same competitiveness that can get the program turned around will always keep Harbaugh wondering if he can make another run at football's ultimate prize of a Super Bowl win.
Like other coaches that have gone from college to the pros or vice versa, Harbaugh will wait until the opportunity is right, and he'll leave when it arises. Now, there's far more attachment to him in Ann Arbor than there was to him when he left Stanford for the 49ers. It might not be four years from now. It might be closer to six or eight, but the day will come. His messy exit from the Bay Area further underscores the belief that he won't see eye-to-eye with management for long, and sticking around longer than you're wanted (ask Oklahoma's Bob Stoops this week) might not be in your best interests.
And let's not forget when he questioned the academic standards for football players at his alma mater a few years ago. Now he's working for a president who has admitted he knows little about athletics and whose experiences are rooted only in academia, plus an athletic director who still carries the interim title. Michigan should have high standards for its staff, but if something gets in the way of Harbaugh winning, he typically has stewed about such things behind the scenes.
"Throughout my life, I have dreamed of coaching at the University of Michigan," Harbaugh said on Tuesday. "Now I have the honor to live it. ... I know Michigan football and I believe in Michigan football."
Even Harbaugh's father, Jack, was surprised his son returned to the college ranks and didn't stay in the NFL. He's at Michigan now, but that same line of thinking -- wondering when he'll go back to the NFL -- will persist until his clean-cut hair turns gray and he retires.
Michigan fans should be happy they got their man. They did something other college football powers like Texas and Florida could not do in luring top targets to their openings. I'm firmly in the camp who thinks it won't be long before the Wolverines are competing for Big Ten titles and turning their annual game with Ohio State back into a cold-blooded war. Few can evaluate assistant coaches and young football players like Harbaugh.
All coaches move on, though, and Harbaugh will be no exception. The disappointment Michigan fans will feel when their beloved son leaves won't be because he failed to lift the program. They'll be disappointed because such a driving force departed, leaving them to face the prospect of an unknown future. Things didn't work out so well when that happened after Lloyd Carr retired, and no amount of succession planning for a Harbaugh departure will make losing a coach of his stature any easier for the program to handle.
Keep an eye on 49ers fans, because they're about to go through that very journey.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
