In an open letter to the "football community", Jim Harbaugh on Thursday published a lengthy thesis arguing for a massive change to the NFL draft entry process.
In short, Harbaugh argues that players should be able to go pro at any point they choose, rather than spend the NFL-mandated three years in college first.
"I was fortunate to attend the University of Michigan on a scholarship, played football and earned a meaningful academic degree over a five-year period of time," Harbaugh wrote. "While that was great for me and can be for many current football athletes, it may not be best for all. There are 'early bloomers,' capable of competing in the NFL and earning a livelihood at an earlier age."
The Harbaugh Plan would see players able to declare themselves eligible at any point of their college careers -- basically, the model the NBA used before the one-and-done rule. If a player was selected, he would then join his new NFL team and forfeit any remaining eligibility. However, if the player was not selected and did not sign a free agent contract, he could then return to college football without penalty, provided he remained in good academic standing.
Drawing on his experiences as a Michigan quarterback who went through the draft process himself, a college head coach, an NFL head coach and now a college head coach again, Harbaugh clearly put a lot of time and thought into Thursday's letter, crediting conversations with his father, Jack, Michigan AD Warde Manuel and Michigan president Mark Schlissel in shaping his thinking.
In making the change, Harbaugh argues each college player who leaves early should have the opportunity to return to school at the university's expense. The school would provide one year of scholarship for every year the player remained in school -- freshmen would get one year of expenses paid, sophomores two, etc.
Harbaugh also says players should have the ability to hire agents "so long as the S/A does not receive compensation."
And that's a point that merits further inspection.
The letter does not reference the NCAA's movement to liberalize its long-standing name, image and likeness rules that would allow active college athletes to hire agents to broker their own NIL deals.
In response to that, AFCA executive director Todd Berry argued that players should instead go pro rather than receive money while playing in college.
Harbaugh does not specify if he would allow players to go pro whenever they want in addition to the opportunity to market their name in college football or in replace of that opportunity.
(Update: ESPN's Dan Murphy responded on Twitter saying Michigan told him the changes are in addition to coming NIL legislation.)
Setting that issue aside, Harbaugh also argued for the elimination of redshirts -- giving players five seasons to compete -- removing the hard cap of 25 signees per recruiting class, and granting all players a 1-time waiver to transfer and play immediately.
Read the full letter below.