Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel finds it both laughable and ridiculous that he’s blamed for national championship-winning coaches leaving for the pro ranks.
The latest was Dusty May, the men’s basketball head coach who accepted the same role with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks last month. Before him, Jim Harbaugh departed and returned to the NFL after the 2023 season, signing a deal to become head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Both May and Harbaugh left Michigan after bringing home national titles in their respective sports, with men’s basketball winning it all this past season and football in 2023.
According to Manuel, who’s had plenty of speculation swirling about his job security and future this week, there wasn’t any more he could’ve done to prevent May’s and Harbaugh’s exits.
“I look back on it and I have no regrets about what I did to try to keep both of them here. Zero,” Manuel said this week during a wide-ranging radio interview on WTKA’s “The Michigan Insider.”
“I know what I talked to them about. I know what I offered them to both remain here as the coach. Both said that they wanted the opportunity to go and coach professionally.”
The departures of May and Harbaugh led to what Manuel described as “craziness” on social media. When it comes to May’s exit, Manuel cited social media claims ranging from the basketball team’s NIL funding — “I told Dusty that I’m not giving any more money to NIL,” he said — to his relationship with May — “That’s why Dusty left. He didn’t like Warde,” he added — among the “ridiculous things that people roll with and believe.”
“I will tell you in both cases, I’m happy for both of those men and what they’re doing in their careers now, by their choice,” Manuel said. “Secondly, I’m happy both came to Michigan. They left us far better than we were when they arrived. And if anything judges their legacy, it’s not that they left; it’s what they did when they were here.”
After inheriting a program coming off its worst season ever and a decimated roster, May spearheaded a two-year turnaround that brought Michigan back into the national spotlight. May’s two seasons also produced one of the greatest stretches in program history, complete with a Big Ten tournament title, Big Ten regular-season title and Michigan’s first national championship in 37 years.
During May’s time in Ann Arbor, his name was linked to openings at other high-major programs, first at his alma mater Indiana two seasons ago and at North Carolina this spring. Manuel gave May an extension toward the end of his first season at the helm. Then in April, Manuel announced he reached an agreement with May on a new five-year deal, but it was never signed.
“I laugh because I don’t get the credit for what I did when Indiana came (after May). I don’t get the credit for what I did when North Carolina came. But I get the blame when they make a decision that they want to make,” Manuel said.
“There’s no guns put to people’s heads. There’s no me telling somebody you have to sign this, and if you don’t sign it, I’m firing you. … Those kinds of things, to me, are the ridiculous nature of how our fans at times react to things. Give them the credit for making the choices that they want to make for their lives.”
May, in a farewell post to the Michigan community on social media, said the Mavericks job was an opportunity “I felt I needed to pursue.” In his introductory press conference with the Mavericks, May shared his reasons for leaving Michigan, a list that included the current state of college basketball, the people he’d be working with in the front office, the roster he’d be coaching, the amount of time he’d get to focus on coaching and the quality of life in Dallas.
Manuel said there was no cause for concern with how long it was taking May to sign his new contract. Two seasons ago, his first extension was announced in February and wasn’t finalized and signed until July.
And with how hectic and “significant” May’s schedule was after winning the national title, Manuel noted May was rarely in town. Manuel saw him once in April and then not again until the following month’s Big Ten spring meetings in California. During that time, May was flying all around the country, whether it was recruiting, working as a court coach at training camp for the 2026 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team in Colorado, or attending the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, where May had his first conversation with Mavericks’ front office members.
“There was nothing about taking long or going through the process that alarmed me that he was leaving,” Manuel said.
That was until May called him and told him about the interest he had in the Mavs job.
“We met two days later and had a conversation, and he told me he was going to take the offer, but it wasn’t without me trying to keep him,” Manuel said. “They make choices that they feel that were in their best interest and their desire.”
Manuel posed a hypothetical scenario, one where he passed on hiring May because he knew May was interested in coaching in the pros at some point and May went on to win a national championship elsewhere. If Manuel admitted to doing that, “people would go crazy” and he’d face severe backlash.
But as much as Manuel wishes Harbaugh and May were both still at Michigan, they’re not. And Manuel argues it’s not because of a lack of effort on his part.
“I’m thankful for Dusty, I’m thankful for Jim Harbaugh, for them to have been here and to have done what they have done. To me, it should be celebrated,” Manuel said. “If people want to blame me for (them) leaving, be my guest. I mean, it’s ridiculous, but I’d rather have had those gentlemen here producing the success they have than to have not had them here at all.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Warde Manuel has ‘no regrets’ in efforts to keep Dusty May at Michigan
Reporting by James Hawkins, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Hawkins, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
