Till now only Sherrone Moore had to be in the hot seat in the post-Jim Harbaugh era. But looks like, another official’s seat just got hotter. That’s none other than Warde Manuel, the athletic director of the Michigan Wolverines. Now that Manuel also holds a chair in the CFP committee, he has started to get side eyes for his recent comment on how things might fall in and out of place in the rankings in the coming week. However, looks like the Wolverines are still counting on their beloved coach. Now that he has already been in the limelight for not the positive reasons, a college football analyst sounds an alarm for the Wolverines shedding how Manuel faltered in his role in the past. 

Manuel has been in Ann Arbor since 2016. And just when the Michigan fans thought that the AD might undergo the same fate as Harbaugh, the veteran administrator secured some extra time. According to multiple reports, Moore and Co. are finalizing a five-year contract extension with Manuel. Lucky Manuel, it’s raining riches on him! Back in February 2021, his base salary was $1.1 million for one year. Post which he got a hike, as his salary went up to $1,227,100. Now the 56-year-old AD has unlocked a contract that will extend through June 30, 2030, in contrast to the earlier was that was through June 30, 2026. The numbers of the new contract will be roughly around $2.4 million per year. But looks like analyst James Yoder is not much interested in the money. To him, Michigan’s fate is the biggest concern as he took the fans on a down-memory lane ride, “What did he really oversee over the last six seven years eight years since he’s been the offensive coordinator.”

Yes, Manuel is the man known for helping the Wolverines win a national championship and having a strong recruiting class. But his biggest drawback has been failing to stop Harbaugh from making the NFL swap. “Lost arguably the best coach in Michigan football history in Jim Harbaugh by getting him extension not getting a contract done for two straight offseasons,” pointed out Yoder. It’s not that just Michigan football had to pay for it. 

Manuel’s inefficiency also led Michigan basketball to lose their HC John Beilein while the Wolverines baseball team lost their best HC Erik Bakich. That’s why the analyst tagged the AD’s era in Michigan as “cancel culture” and stated, “Warde didn’t have the spine to back his coach.” Not just for the Wolverines, Manuel is facing some serious pushback from college football fans for his novice comment on the playoffs rankings.

How Warde Manuel’s decision sparked outrage

Do you know that the Michigan AD got thrashed online but not for supporting Moore’s boys? Yes, as we all know it’s over the Wolverines this season when it comes to their playoff dreams. Now that Manuel holds such an important chair in the CFP committee he had to make his voice heard. So in that case he had to pick his favorite program. He then went with Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama Crimson Tide. That’s when things started to turn ugly for Manuel.

After all, he did not think twice before snubbing Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes. However, he can’t be blamed as the program with two losses was bound to be the first team out. What was the real problem was the explanation that Manuel came up with. Holding such an important chair, he sounded all confused as he said, “I just want to say to everybody on the call, these are not easy decisions for us to make.” So, this made the fans angry and go like Manuel “is a joke.”

Already things are hot in Ann Arbor as Michigan Wolverines are on probation for having noncoaching staff members in impermissible roles and violations during the COVID-19 dead period. Now that they extended Warde Manuel’s tenure who has already lost fan’s faith, is likely going to be problematic.