How NCAA investigation into Michigan will impact Jim Harbaugh's NFL future

The rumors of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh leaving the college game for the NFL once again have been major storylines in each of the last few offseasons. But the discussion has become part of the regular season this year discourse due to the Wolverines being investigated for an alleged illegal sign-stealing operation.

AP sports writer Ralph Russo hopped on with Andy Staples for his On3 podcast Tuesday to discuss all things Michigan, including whether the investigation will be the thing that pushes Harbaugh back to the professional level.

“We’ve talked about this all the time with the Harbaugh situation and the NFL,” Russo said. “It takes two to tango here. Harbaugh may already be in the NFL if the Vikings really wanted him to be their head coach. If Miami didn’t have that debacle with Flores and everything that had going on there…it worked out okay for Miami [hiring current head coach Mike McDaniel] but Stephen Ross may have hired Harbaugh a couple of years ago. Somebody needs to want him to be their NFL coach. Now that might happen. I would be interested to see what [the Los Angeles Chargers have] to say. I’d be interested to see what the Bears have to say.”

Harbaugh has been a head coach for the past 20 years, with 16 coming at the college level and four coming in the NFL. The 59-year-old Harbaugh has been with Michigan, his alma mater, since the 2015 season.

He has been successful at all four of his head coaching spots. He entered the 2023 season with a 132–52 record at the college level, including eight double-digit win seasons and four conference titles.

In his four years with the San Francisco 49ers, he led the team to the playoffs three times. San Francisco made the NFL Championship Game during all three of those playoff berths with one Super Bowl appearance.

Russo said he always figured the Harbaugh to NFL rumors would start up again at some point. But he also looks at the rumors from a different angle.

There needs to be an NFL landing spot for him. Because if this next cycle comes and goes with Harbaugh still in Ann Arbor, Mich., that is when things could get very interesting.

“I was assuming that stuff was going to happen again,” Russo said. “But still he has to be wanted. The bigger issue becomes if he is not wanted, that’s where the story has a longer tail.”