Michigan AD Warde Manuel talks Jim Harbaugh, sign stealing allegations and his future

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - Warde Manuel has been the athletic director for the University of Michigan since 2016.

"There should be excitement here about the future and the potential for Michigan to not only Win Big 10 championships, but national championships," he said at his introductory press conference.

He played football for legendary coach, Bo Schembechler, and earned three degrees at Michigan. This past season, his vision of the football program climbing to the top of the college football world came to fruition under coach Jim Harbaugh. 

Manuel however, has been happy to remain in the background away from the cameras and microphones. He tells FOX 2's Charlie Langton in an exclusive interview - that's exactly how he likes it.

"I want the focus on the student athletes and the coaches," he said.

Langton: "Why? But you're the boss."

"I get it, and I do speak up when I need to," Maneul said. "It's enough to make the to make the point that I need to make."

Despite facing challenges including the dismissal of two coaches, NCAA sanctions and an ongoing investigation, Michigan still won the national championship in football. And, this 56-year-old athletic director was awarded the prestigious National Football Foundation's Athletic Director of the Year.

Yet challenges still remain in college athletics, especially when student-athletes can now earn more money than the athletic director himself.

Langton: "How much do you think the star, the best player on the team, the most popular football player. How much you think that person will
make?"

"Over a million," he said.

In 2021 the NCAA let student-athletes make money from their name, image and likeness. Universities can't pay them, but others can. A few years earlier, the NCAA created the transfer portal and made it easier for the athletes to switch schools.

Together, these changes are creating huge problems.

Langton: "Are you worried about retaining those players?"

"Yes, yes, the pay-for-play in the revenue share, I don't have a problem with," Manuel said. "Kids transferring every year, free agency in and of itself every year - I don't think that's very good for the game or for them.

"We talk about the value of the Michigan degree long term for your life, and the commitment that Michigan makes to you as a graduate, and the commitment that you will have a lifetime from alums around the world. And so for us, we sell that."

Former coach Jim Harbaugh spoke about his legacy and what it means to be a Michigan man after winning the national championship last January.

"When they throw dirt over top of me, if somebody who's eulogizing me, who was on this team, or one of my teammates when I was playing at Michigan, if they would simply say 'He was a Michigan man,' that would be, that would mean everything."

Manuel said that Jim Harbaugh left because he couldn't win an NFL's Lombardi trophy in Ann Arbor.

Langton: "You wanted him to stay?"

"I did, absolutely, no doubt about it," Manuel said. "And he knows that, I talked to him about it, so there's no doubt."

Langton: "Is there a misconception around that maybe you should pay more money, or not suspended him, or I know you didn't suspend him the last three games, but he was suspended for the last three games, and that he may have said, 'Ah, I don't want to stay, I want to go.'"

"We offered him more money. We offered him to make him the highest paid coach in college football," Manuel said.

Langton: "Did Jim Harbaugh understand he had he needed to be suspended?"

"I think he understood," Manuel said. "I don't think he liked it."

The self-imposed suspension for recruiting violations was Harbaugh's first suspension.

"Ultimately, we had agreed to four games. He had agreed to it. We had agreed to it," Manuel said. "And then the NCAA didn't accept it for some reason. But we still had, we still had an issue that we admitted had happened."

He was suspended for the last three games of the season by the Big 10 because of allegations of an elaborate sign stealing operation by a low level staffer, Connor Stallions.

Langton: "Did sign stealing happen with many teams?"

"Sign stealing happens all the time across the way," he said. "You know, the coaches are looking, people are looking at what other people are doing, and looking at us. They're seeing what signs and what's what you're holding up in the air, they're trying to coordinate with, what does that mean."

Langton: "This was more than that."

"This was more, this was being in the stands, and necessarily, not necessarily just him, but others on on behalf of him, that he was encouraging or getting to do this, is the allegation.

Connor Stallions that former football staffer, never admitted responsibility to his alleged rogue, sign-stealing actions and later resigned from the program.

The investigation remains ongoing by the NCAA.

Langton: " You didn't know?"

"No, absolutely not," Manuel said. "Jim said he never knew anything about it. I believe it. We just have to figure out and let the NCAA run that process."

Langton: "Does that hurt recruiting, does that hurt the university?"

"No, I don't think so. No, it. I'm sure others out there are trying to use it against us, but it doesn't," Manuel said. "It talks about the people who tried to execute that. If it, if it comes out that they were involved and deeply involved, it doesn't get to the core of who we are in athletics.

"And I believe Jim when he says he didn't know. I believe our other coaches when they said they didn't."

With so many tough decisions this past year, Manuel has been overwhelmingly criticized by many in the Wolverine community.

Manuel says he doesn't let the noise get to him.

"I am not going to deal with people who hide behind fake pictures and fake names," he said. "If you want to step up, and you want to tell me who you are and show me who you are, and you have something constructive that you want to talk to me about, I'm willing to talk to any of our fans, any of our donors, any people about it.

"But don't hide. I can't hide. I'm 6-5, 300 pounds. I can't hide."

Manuel's five year contract is up in 2025, but there's some talk about giving him an extension before then.

Langton: "Right now, would you renegotiate to get a couple more years now?"

"I would if they offered it, yeah, absolutely I want it," he said."I mean, where else am I going to go? This is the best job in the country, and this place means so much to me. I just put everything I can into it and help to drive the success, and watch it and observe it and cheer and do what's necessary for us to continue our success."

Stallions is the focus of a new Netflix sports documentary as part of the Untold series. Manuel says he is not going to watch it.

Manuel said among the hardest things he's had to do was fire mens basketball coach Juwan Howard - who was a friend - after an 8-24 record last season.