http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/sports/ncaafootball/jim-harbaugh-is-michigans-next-football-coach.html 2014-12-30 20:55:46 Michigan Makes It Official: Jim Harbaugh Is Next Football Coach Harbaugh, who left the San Francisco 49ers to return to college coaching, should give a jolt of energy to Michigan’s beleaguered football program. === ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Harbaugh, who left the Harbaugh called his return to Ann Arbor a homecoming. He spent part of his childhood there while his father, Jack, was an assistant under Bo Schembechler. Harbaugh played from 1983 to 1986 for Schembechler. “I have to tell you, it’s been a dream of mine to come back as a football coach to the University of Michigan,” Harbaugh, 51, said. " I have thought about that dream since I was 9, 10 years old, through my adult life. Now it is time to live that dream.” Harbaugh’s voice was scratchy and broke at times, making speaking difficult. He said he lost his voice Sunday while coaching his last game for the 49ers, which included a Gatorade shower at the end. Harbaugh replaces Brady Hoke, who was fired after a tumultuous 5-7 regular season. The Wolverines “I am not comfortable with that at all,” Harbaugh said, when asked if he would be the savior of Michigan football. The news conference, one of the largest in Michigan athletics history, included hundreds of news media members and a gathering of Michigan football legends from the past 40 years. The former Michigan head coaches Lloyd Carr and Gary Moeller, the former athletic director Bill Martin and Cathy Schembechler, Bo’s widow, were seated at the front alongside the Harbaugh family, which included Jim’s father, Jack, and mother, Jackie. Dozens of former and current players also attended. “To have my son take over at Michigan is one of the happiest days of my life,” Jack Harbaugh said. “Just an amazing day for all of us.”