After the Michigan football team won their first National Title since 1997, Wolverines fans immediately had to put their guard up. Ever since Harbaugh left the NFL to coach his alma mater back in 2015, the assumption has been that someday, when the right team came calling and made the right sort of offer, Jim Harbaugh would return to the NFL to try to capture the Super Bowl title that, thanks to his brother John, alluded him. At this point, the Lombardi Trophy is the only one of relevance that Harbaugh has not hoisted.
Jim Harbaugh won the Orange Bowl while with Stanford. He was part of the coaching staff that took the then-Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002, and then just over a decade later, Harbaugh won an NFC Championship as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He won three consecutive Big Ten titles at Michigan, and capped this season off with a National Title. Shoot, Harbaugh even led the University of San Diego to back-to-back Pioneer Football League titles in 2005 and 2006.
So, when Jim Harbaugh's former quarterback Colin Kaepernick says “Harbaugh is the one coach you call when you want to compete for a championship,” just know that that's no cap from Kaep.
This is the sentiment that Colin Kaepernick shared with Mike Freeman of USA Today when asked the question, “What did you think of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh possibly returning to the NFL?” and let's be clear, if this weren't the case, then Harbaugh's name wouldn't have been mentioned for the last half of a decade whenever a coaching vacancy has come up. This isn't just Colin Kaepernick saying something off the cuff because he and Harbaugh reached a Super Bowl together with the 49ers. This is a widely held sentiment throughout the league. No matter how prickly Harbaugh can be or how much controversy he may bring upon himself, he's established himself as a winner everywhere he's gone, and that will always be the bottomline.
Off the top of my head, I can think of instances where Harbaugh was suggested to be the next head coach of the Bears, Broncos, Cowboys, Raiders, Patriots, Chargers, Commanders, Vikings, and Panthers. And until the day comes when Harbaugh does make that jump back to the NFL or retires for good, he'll continue to be one of the first names mentioned whenever a job opens up.
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