Jim Harbaugh interviews for Atlanta Falcons head coach position

Jim Harbaugh has completed his second NFL interview of the week. The Atlanta Falcons announced they interviewed the Michigan head coach on Tuesday.

Harbaugh previously met with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday as he weighs his NFL options. Speculation grew throughout the 2023 season about a possible NFL return for Harbaugh, who last coached in the league in 204 with the San Francisco 49ers. During the College Football Playoff, news broke that Harbaugh hired NFL agent Don Yee to represent him, further signaling his interest in getting back to the league.

Interviewing Harbaugh is the latest step in the Falcons’ process to replace Arthur Smith, who was let go after another sub-.500 season. Atlanta also interviewed legendary coach Bill Belichick after he parted ways with the New England Patriots a week ago.

Harbaugh has a 44-19-1 overall record as an NFL head coach with the 49ers from 2011-14, but he also amassed an 86-25 record at Michigan after returning to his alma mater in 2015. Last week, he led his alma mater to its first national championship in 26 years, and the question immediately became what would be next.

Harbaugh hasn’t yet commented on his desire to go back to the NFL. In fact, when asked by On3’s Andy Staples if a Super Bowl was on his list of accomplishments, Harbaugh said he wanted to enjoy the victory.

“I just want to enjoy this,” Harbaugh said. “I hope you give me that. Can a guy have that? Does it always have to be what’s next, what’s the future? Like I said the other day, yeah, I hope to have a future. I hope there’s a tomorrow, a day after tomorrow, a next week, a next month, a next year.”

While the NFL rumors swirl around Jim Harbaugh, there’s also the idea he could stay at Michigan. The university has been working on a contract extension for some time now that could make him among the game’s highest-paid coaches.

However, according to Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel, there are a couple sticking points. One is the start date, which Harbaugh wants to be later so NFL teams wouldn’t have to pay as much should he leave for the league. The other is protection from the university in case the NCAA suspends him as a result of two investigations — one into comments made to investigators about recruiting violations and another into the sign-stealing allegations.