Adam Schefter: Michigan could not offer Jim Harbaugh a Super Bowl

Weeks after leading Michigan to a national championship, Jim Harbaugh is expected to be named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who was the first to break the news, joined SportsCenter in the immediate aftermath after dropping the bombshell news. There, he broke down what led Harbaugh to his decision to return to the NFL after nearly a decade.

“Here’s the deal. Michigan had an offer on the table to make him the highest-paid coach in college football,” Schefter said on Wednesday. “And Michigan, though, could not offer him the chance to win a Super Bowl. And really, that’s ultimately it. He would have loved to have stayed at Michigan. Michigan would love to have had him.

“But the fact of the matter is the Chargers give him the ability to compete for a Super Bowl, and I think that Jim Harbaugh clearly was interested in L.A., he was interested in Atlanta. But the first visit was to Los Angeles, to the Chargers. And because of that, that gave them, I believe, in advantage, and Atlanta had carried on its business.

Schefter said that the Falcons were still in play for Harabugh’s services up until the final minutes. The job in Atlanta ‘really appealed’ to him, according to Schefter, but the Chargers stepped up and made sure he didn’t leave Los Angeles and hop on a plane to negotiate in Atlanta.

Ultimately, a deal was struck — but what drew Harbaugh to Los Angeles?

“There are many factors that appeal about the Chargers, and I think you start with Justin Herbert,” Schefter continued. “Everywhere that Jim Harbaugh has been, he has turned around that program. He was a quarterback in San Diego with the Chargers. He knows the ownership group. He knows the Spanos family, and he is a huge Justin Herbert fan.

“So when this opportunity was presented to him, it was a question of whether the two sides can come to a common ground in terms of the infrastructure within the organization on a contract, on a deal. And all those elements came together today to where now, he’s going to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.”

That now leaves Michigan with a void at head coach. According to Schefter’s colleague, ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Sherrone Moore has emerged as the top candidate to replace Harbaugh as the Wolverines’ next headman.