Report: NFL might lure Michigan’s Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh could follow up his best season yet as Michigan’s coach with his most surprising move yet, according to one report.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman suggested Tuesday that Harbaugh, who just finished his seventh season with the Wolverines, could leave his alma mater for the NFL.
Feldman: “‘I think it’s real,’ said one source this week when asked about the possibility of Harbaugh being interested in heading back to the NFL.”
The Free Press asked Michigan for comment on the report but did not get a response.
Harbaugh, 58, just led Michigan to the College Football Playoff, an Orange Bowl loss and a 12-win season — his first at UM and his first as a college coach since he led Stanford to 12 wins and an Orange Bowl victory in 2010. After that season, he took the job as the San Francisco 49ers coach.
In four NFL seasons, Harbaugh went 44-19, reaching three consecutive NFC championship games and Super Bowl 47 in the 2012 season, losing to his brother, John, and the Baltimore Ravens. He returned to Michigan in 2015. The Wolverines are 61-24 since then, with four seasons of at least 10 wins. He is 1-5 in bowl games. He is also 1-5 against Ohio State.
Feldman said the Las Vegas Raiders, who are in the playoff hunt under interim coach John Bisaccia, and the Chicago Bears, who are expected to fire coach Matt Nagy, could each be a destination for Harbaugh. The Jacksonville Jaguars fired former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer in his first season in the NFL.
Harbaugh was 35-30 as Bears quarterback from 1987-93, after playing at Michigan under Bo Schembechler. His first job after retiring from playing was with the Raiders as quarterbacks coach from 2002-03, helping Rich Gannon win the 2002 NFL MVP Award and helping the team reach Super Bowl 37.
The 2021 AP Coach of the Year, Harbaugh found success one season removed from a 2-4 record.
Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@freepress.com or on Twitter @Tdavisfreep.