Seat Heating Up For Jim Harbaugh After Michigan State Loss

Michigan can only give Jim Harbaugh so much leash. At a certain point, it comes time to hold him accountable for the state of the Wolverines football program. We are getting dangerously close to that time.

On Saturday, Michigan lost to in-state rival Michigan State 27-24. Normally, that wouldn't be that big of a deal. But this is a different Spartans squad. It is a team that was fresh off an 11-point loss to Rutgers. Yes, the same Rutgers that was a combined 3-21 over the last two years and hasn't had a winning season since 2015.

Michigan State is a rebuilding program under new coach Mel Tucker. But on Saturday, it was a program that was handing Harbaugh and the Wolverines a loss to even the records at 1-1. For Harbaugh, this is embarrassing.

At 0-5, Michigan has not beaten Ohio State during the Harbaugh era. And with the loss on Saturday, his coaching record now falls to 1-6 at home against the Buckeyes and Spartans -- the team's two biggest rivals.

Harbaugh has brought this on himself. He has done a decent job recruiting and building the brand of the program, but everything else has been disappointing. Considering expectations, we can probably even consider it a disaster.

The reaction on social media following the game has been brutal, but completely warranted.

This is Year 6 for Harbaugh at Michigan. It's not like he is still trying to build the program his way. This is his program, and it has been built in his image. Unfortunately, that image is tarnished, and Harbaugh is no longer viewed as an elite football coach.

The Wolverines haven't finished a season with less than three losses since he got to Ann Arbor. In bowl games, they're 1-4 under the fourth-highest paid head coach in college football. Unacceptable.

It is time for time for a change. It might not happen due to the financial implications during a pandemic, but Michigan can do better than Jim Harbaugh. And they should.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.