Jim Harbaugh was largely silent when it came to Urban Meyer’s tenure at Ohio State.

Meyer, who owned an impressive 83-9 overall record over seven seasons with the Buckeyes, including three Big Ten titles and a national championship, went a perfect 7-0 against the Wolverines.

But now that Meyer has stepped down, choosing to retire as one of the most accomplished coaches in Ohio State history, Harbaugh is speaking up.

At least, partially.

Harbaugh, speaking on the Tim Kawakami-hosted podcast, “The TK Show,” this week on The Athletic, was asked about Meyer’s decision to retire after 17 seasons as a college football head coach.

“Urban Meyer’s had a winning record,” Harbaugh told Kawakami. “Really, a phenomenal record everywhere he’s been. But also, controversy follows him everywhere he’s been.”

Harbaugh did not go into any more detail, or specify which instances he was directly referring to, but there are quantitative examples. Meyer received criticism for the string of player arrests during his six seasons at Florida, where 31 players were arrested for a variety of charges, ranging in seriousness.

Then, last year, an assistant coach on Meyer’s staff at Ohio State, Zach Smith, was the center of controversy for a string of domestic violence-related incidents with his then-wife. Meyer later fired Smith but was criticized for his handling of the situation.

Still, Meyer and Ohio State posted a perfect 4-0 record against Michigan since Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor ahead of the 2015 season. The Wolverines’ losing streak against the Buckeyes stretches back to 2011.

“You welcome the accountability,” said Harbaugh, who is 38-14 in four seasons at Michigan. "All you can be judged on is your record. What your record is overall. What your record is within the conference (26-9). And what your record is head-to-head matchups with the other teams that you play.

“Right now, I think you’ll find that Ohio State is the only team that has a better record than us. And has the better, overall head-to-head matchup with us. ... We have two goals: Win multiple championships and run a first-class program. That’s we aspire to.”

Jim Harbaugh is slated to take the podium at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on Friday.

Click below to listen to this week’s “Wolverine Confidential” podcast from MLive.