Jim Harbaugh discusses how long he wants to continue coaching

Jim Harbaugh was asked how much longer he envisions coaching football. Now, throw out the Michigan sign stealing allegations for a second.

Harbaugh had to genuinely think about that question asked as his Monday presser, fresh off another victory Saturday. The Wolverines coach didn’t put a timeframe on it and even cited a conversation with his brother John Harbaugh.

John, of course, is the longtime coach of the Baltimore Ravens and won a Super Bowl over Jim during the 2012 season. Both have had similar conversations about the topic.

“Really the only way I’ve really thought about that is it might have been five or six years ago,” Harbaugh said. “We were at my brother John’s place … And we were sitting there talking to each other. We’re like, we’re talking about how long do you coach, what do you accomplish? You know, the same questions you’re asking and talking to each other, but we couldn’t come up with anything definitive. So we asked the same question to our dad.”

Jim Harbaugh opens up on coaching future

Jack Harbaugh, a former coach himself and even made an appearance on the Michigan staff during Jim’s suspension this year, had the best advice.

“Dad, how long do you coach, when you know to stop coaching,” Harbaugh said he asked his father. “And he said, ‘I’ll tell you boys, here’s what you do. You coach as long as you possibly can. You coach until you get to the point where you don’t feel like you can coach another day, you can’t make another script, you can’t go out to the practice field. And that’s when you know, when you get to that point, coach for two more years.’ 

“That’s the advice he gave me …. Yeah, it seems like great advice. Great advice, and it’s, I’ve shared that advice. I don’t keep that to myself. Different coaches that retire. I always tell congratulations, and then just gotta give you this perspective from Jack Harbaugh.”

Harbaugh is 9-0 this season and 83-25 since 2015 as the coach of the Michigan Wolverines. With back-to-back Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances, he’s poised to get there again.

Harbaugh is 141-52 overall as a college head coach with San Diego, Stanford and Michigan. He’s one of the best college coaches of the last 20-plus years so in essence, he can coach as long as wants, especially at Michigan given his recent run.

But obviously, there’s still that looming shadow of an investigation.