Michigan’s 34-13 victory on Monday night over Washington sealed a 15-0 season for the Wolverines, delivering the university’s first national title since 1997. Following the “Who’s got it better than us?” howls from the podium, questions immediately turned to Jim Harbaugh’s future.
The former San Francisco 49ers head coach, who led Michigan the past nine seasons, including trips to the College Football Playoff each of the past three seasons following back-to-back-to-back wins over rival Ohio State, was asked Monday night about the potential of jumping back to the NFL.
“I just want to enjoy this,” Harbaugh said via The Associated Press. “I just want to enjoy this. 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, 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.”
That’s not a “no,” folks.
Harbaugh is expected to be a hot coaching candidate this cycle after getting interviews two years ago with Minnesota and Denver last season before ultimately returning to Michigan.
Over the weekend, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that multiple NFL teams have been making calls regarding a possible pursuit of Harbaugh. The Michigan coach also recently retained agent Don Yee — famously Tom Brady’s agent — viewed as a sign of a potential return to the NFL.
Michigan’s national title under Harbaugh wasn’t without controversy. The coach served a school-imposed, three-game suspension to start the season for the alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also was suspended for the last three regular-season games for violating the Big Ten sportsmanship policy in connection with the Connor Stalions alleged sign-stealing scheme.
“We stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent,” Harbaugh said of the investigations. “It went exactly how we wanted it to go. It went exactly how we wanted it to go.”
The investigations into his undefeated program could incentivize Harbaugh to return to the NFL. However, Rapoport and Pelissero reported in October that the NFL is unlikely to be a safe harbor for Harbaugh and could enforce some or all of any discipline imposed by the NCAA.
Despite the allegations, Harbaugh’s ability to turn around programs, including at the pro-level, will spur interest from NFL clubs. Harbaugh is a winner whose players love him. Despite his quirks, those attributes will make him one of the top coaching candidates this season.
