What Wolverine Fans Chanted for Harbaugh, McCarthy at Crisler National Title Celebration

The decisions concerning the futures of the quarterback and head coach of a 15-0 football team were front and center during Saturday's festivities

Photo Courtesy of College Football Playoff

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy can’t take his eyes off the College Football Playoff national championship trophy.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – What were you hoping for at the Wolverines’ football national championship celebration Saturday night at sold-out Crisler Center?

Coach Jim Harbaugh announcing he was staying at Michigan with a long-term contract?

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy declaring that he would indeed play one more season here?

Well, neither did that.

But did you really expect those two ultimate team players to upstage an ultimate team event with their own big news?

Probably not.

But, hey, we could hope.

Neither said anything that was terribly revealing about which way they may be leaning. But if you watched their eyes, measured their tones, read between the lines -- I believe there were clues.

Harbaugh doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere. I’m going to be surprised if he goes to the NFL – even though most national pundits are treating his return to the pros as a foregone conclusion. He quite simply loves it too much here. Some believe the NCAA’s hounding of him could cause him to leave, but I believe what appeals to Jim is taking a stand against anything the NCAA throws his way.

McCarthy seems like he’s headed to that next challenge, and I will be surprised if he returns for a fourth season to add onto those 6,226 passing yards (sixth at Michigan) and 49 touchdown passes (tied for fourth with Denard Robinson). He did everything he sought to do here, went 27-1 as a starter, and sees what a quarterback like Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud is doing as a rookie for the playoff-winning Houston Texans.

When McCarthy was called to speak on the stage set up at center court, fans chanted, “One more year! One more year! One more year!” He was overcome, leaned back, and smiled widely. Defensive back Mikey Sainristil egged on the crowd, repeatedly thrusting both arms up from his hips. Offensive guard Trevor Keegan smiled and raised his eyebrows. Three fans strategically seated directly behind McCarthy held up cell phone messages that read: “ONE…MORE…YEAR.”

This was good television, being broadcast live by the Big Ten Network.

McCarthy began by recalling his tweet from November 2020, several weeks before he came to Ann Arbor as an early-reporting freshman. It was about how fans should “take a deep breath” and ready themselves for the resolve the Wolverines would be showing coming off a 2-4 season.

Then J.J. said, “Now, I know a lot of us got some big-time lifetime decisions to make. But I just want to let you guys know, no matter what decision comes of this, Michigan will always be in my heart, and I will be proud to be a Michigan man. And I love you all! Go Blue!”

He also wore a “Business is Finished” 2023 National Champions T-shirt just like tailback Blake Corum. But I wouldn’t read anything into that. Plenty of players – both those returning and departing – wore similar ones.

Either way he goes, there isn’t a Michigan fan who won’t support his decision. Fox analyst Joel Klatt – whose observations are always spot-on – said after the 34-13 national title win over Washington that J.J. should come back, while noting that he will do just fine coming out now. McCarthy’s slotted to be about the fifth quarterback taken in an extremely talented field. and he could be the No. 1 overall pick one year from now.

When Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel began addressing the fans at Crisler, he noted that he’d been asked “about 500 times” along the parade route through campus about bringing back Harbaugh.

“I am working on getting this man a new contract!” Manuel proclaimed.

There’s believed to be a 10-year contract for about $125 million with a clause prohibiting Harbaugh’s ability to even explore NFL possibilities[SK1]  awaiting his signature.

When Harbaugh closed out the show – following team MVP McCarthy and captains Corum, Sainristil, Keegan, Michael Barrett, Kris Jenkins and Zak Zinter – fans gave him a standing ovation.

They chanted: “Ten more years! Ten more years! Ten more years!”

McCarthy was beaming and stood up, placing an imaginary crown over Harbaugh’s head.

But Jim wasn’t getting into his future at something meant to honor his greatest team, and said, “This entire day has been incredible – the parade and this event.”

He went onto praise his team, give an impassioned message tied to the Shakespeare play “Henry V,” and stated: “Bo Schembechler said, ‘The team! The team! The team!’ Team 144, you are the team…Team 144 – we salute you, a band of brothers.”

It was quite a celebration, with four different national championship trophies officially being presented at Crisler.

This is a team none of us will ever forget, no matter what the future brings. There’s a beauty to magical, 15-0 teams. And there’s also a bittersweet tone connected to such teams coming together for the final time.

It was time to salute, and time to move ahead.

Here are some highlight comments from the Michigan captains of Team 144:

Barrett: “They tried to count us out. Too bad they can’t count! We’re in the ass-kicking business and business is booming!”

Keegan: “Man, we came back on a mission – locked in for a whole year.”

Jenkins: “It means a lot to me that I was able to be a captain of an amazing team.”

Zinter on the “Let’s go, Zak!” chant at Michigan Stadium after breaking two bones in his leg in the Ohio State game: “I felt and leaned on every one of you, and for that I will be eternally grateful.” He heard that chant again at Crisler and added, “We came from the bottom in 2020 to national champions.”

Sainristil: “There’s nothing from the last five years that I would trade for anything…Week to week, we gave spankings out. Team 144, we did it. We’re national champs. Go Blue!”

Corum on Feb. 9, 2023, after passing out T-shirts with teammates during halftime of the Michigan-Nebraska basketball game, took the mic at half court, smiled widely, and said:

“Man, it feels good to be back! I don’t have much to say. All I got to say is we’re going to run it back. We’re gonna win a national championship and go down in history. Go Blue!”

On Saturday night, Corum said, “The last four years are nothing I could’ve dreamed of. I can’t thank you enough. It’s been a great ride.”

Indeed.

And that “Business is Finished” shirt he wore said it all. What he predicted came true, and life is good in Ann Arbor. Real good.

---