Jim Harbaugh just finished leading his alma mater to its best finish in at least a decade. Even as he already publicly prepares for another season at the University of Michigan, though, rumors continue to swirl about Harbaugh's prospective return to pro football.
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that he's “hearing rumblings” about the veteran head coach's interest in leaving Ann Arbor for the NFL.
And now, The Athletic is hearing rumblings, both from the NFL side and at Michigan, that Harbaugh might be tempted to leave the Wolverines to return to the NFL. “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.
Harbaugh went back to the college ranks to coach the Wolverines in 2015, after four years as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Though the Niners played in Super Bowl XLVII and two additional NFC Championship games during his tenure in the Bay, Harbaugh had worn out his welcome with the team by his final season, growing crossways with the front office.
Coming off a losing campaign when Harbaugh took the reins, Michigan has gone 61-24 during his time at the helm, including four seasons of double-digit victories. The Wolverines went 12-2 this season, falling to the favored Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP Semifinal on New Year's Eve.
“It was a great season,” Harbaugh said after the game. “To me, it’s one of the best seasons in Michigan football, and we were trying to make it greater tonight. It’s still a beginning for this team. It’s where it began last year, and it'll begin anew this year.”
Obviously, that doesn't sound like a coach who's planning to head to the NFL. The coaching carousel moves fast, though, and there are bound to more vacancies across the NFL as the regular season soon comes to a close.
The Athletic speculates that Harbaugh could be a candidate for potential job openings with the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders.
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