On3 Roundtable: NFL interest in Jim Harbaugh unlikely to go away

After flirting with the possibility of returning to the NFL the past two seasons, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is back in Ann Arbor for his eighth year. But don’t be surprised if he continues to entertain interest from the pros.

Harbaugh interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings opening in 2021 but was reportedly never offered the position. He was also a candidate for the Broncos, Colts and Panthers jobs earlier this year. In a roundtable discussion with On3’s JD PicKell, The Wolverine‘s Chris Balas explained that he expects Harbaugh to continue to listen if NFL teams again come calling after this season.

“Two years ago, he was gone if he had gotten that Minnesota offer,” Balas said. “We reported that. That was a fact. He was saying his goodbyes and everything else in the building. Whatever happened in Minnesota, he’s back to Michigan’s benefit. I think as long as NFL teams are interested — and I’m not sure how much they have been, frankly — (Harbaugh will be).”

Harbaugh, the brother of Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, was previously the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14 after spending four seasons at Stanford. He enjoyed plenty of on-field success during his tenure, finishing with a record of 44-19 and winning the NFC Championship in 2012.

However, there was reportedly a power struggle between Harbaugh and the 49ers management. He was fired after an 8-8 finish to the 2014 season as San Francisco failed to make the playoffs for the first time in his four seasons.

The way things ended with the 49ers raises questions about whether Jim Harbaugh’s coaching style and personality will mesh with an NFL front office. However, the success he has found both in college and the pros should be enough to at least keep him on teams’ radars.

“Everybody says he’s odd or he burned his bridges in San Francisco, but this guy is one of the best football coaches in the country,” Balas continued. “He’s gonna be 60 years old, so that’s really a factor in my opinion. They’re looking young, the NFL is, now. But if you’ve got a franchise out there that says, ‘OK, we want to win. We want to win now. We’ve seen Jim Harbaugh turn things around so quickly at all of his stops.'”

Harbaugh led the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten Championships and College Football Playoff appearances in 2021 and 2022. He has a 74-25 record over seven seasons with just one losing record during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

A Michigan alum who played quarterback for the program in the 1980s, Harbaugh said after announcing his return this offseason that his “heart is in Michigan.” He signed a contract extension with the Wolverines the year prior after the Minnesota fiasco that will keep him at his alma mater through the 2026 season.

Despite all that, though, it seems the itch to return to the NFL isn’t going away any time soon.

“I think there are gonna be other franchises that reach out to him,” Balas said. “I do think he’ll listen. At the same time, I know he loves it at Michigan as well. I do think this is something that we could revisit maybe next year, maybe the following year depending on the success that he has.”