Report: Jim Harbaugh 'might be tempted' to leave Michigan for NFL job
Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh led the Maize and Blue to their first Big Ten title in 17 years and first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff, and won Associated Press Coach of the Year honors one year after taking a pay cut as part of a restructured contract.
Now, rumors have emerged that Harbaugh may be interested in a return to the NFL and that professional organizations could pursue him, with The Athletic‘s Bruce Feldman reporting that the eighth-year head man “might be” interested in a return to the league, where he coached the San Francisco 49ers to 49 wins in four years from 2011-14.
“The Athletic is hearing rumblings, both from the NFL side and at Michigan, that Harbaugh might be tempted to leave the Wolverines to return to the NFL,” Feldman wrote. “‘I think it’s real,’ said one source this week when asked about the possibility of Harbaugh being interested in heading back to the NFL.”
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Feldman mentioned the Las Vegas Raiders — who fired head coach Jon Gruden earlier this offseason and are fighting for a playoff bid with an interim coach — as a possible landing spot, given his relationship with owner Mark Davis. Harbaugh worked for the Oakland Raiders directly following his 15-year NFL playing career. The reporter also named the Chicago Bears, who drafted Harbaugh in 1987 draft. Harbaugh played for the Bears from 1987-93.
Last offseason, Harbaugh signed a contact extension that saw his base salary slashed in half but gave him higher bonuses for winning championships. He’s accrued more than $2 million in incentives after winning the Big Ten title and leading the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff, but pledged to donate the money to athletic department employees who endured pay cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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TheWolverine.com’s Chris Balas has reported that Michigan is already looking at raising Harbaugh’s pay and restructuring his contract, but also that the Raiders may be prepared to offer him their head-coaching job and waste no expense.
Despite saying this past season felt like “a beginning” for the Michigan program, Feldman believes the time may be right for Harbaugh to make the jump back to the pros.
“I’d always heard from people who know him well that they thought at some point he was going to go back to the NFL,” he wrote. “I didn’t think he would leave Michigan knowing he’d never won the game that matters most there (against Ohio State), but now he’s done that and won the Big Ten, it feels like the timing might be right.
“Still, he did say recently that this feels like ‘a beginning’ so maybe he sees they have momentum, and why leave now when he’s finally got that program over the hump?”
Watch for more on this development at TheWolverine.com in the days and weeks to come.
