NFL
Will Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh coach in the NFL for the 2024 season? Possible destinations
Michigan is making a major push to hang on to Jim Harbaugh, but his options are still open and an NFL job might just temp him back to the big time.
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Those famous words from Winston Churchill could very easily have been used to describe Jim Harbaugh’s career path.
A solid NFL quarterback, he has had a coaching trajectory that has been angled ever-upward, even when it seems unfathomable.
At Stanford, he pulled off the greatest statistical upset in college football history when they beat number one ranked USC 24-23, overcoming a 41-point betting spread. Two years later, the Cardinal completed their first-ever 11 win season and appeared in the National Championship Game.
Harbaugh then took the leap to the NFL, taking over at San Francisco where he turned around a franchise that had been on a long downward slide, setting them up to become the perennial contender that they are today. They had three consecutive NFC Championship appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl under his tutelage.
That is where things got strange. Harbaugh decided to leave the 49ers for a job at the University of Michigan. A move from the NFL to college is normally seen as a step backwards, but for Harbaugh, things are not always so clear as they may first appear.
At Michigan, Harbaugh had what would, on it’s own, be a legendary career, leading the Wolverines to seven bowl appearances, winning the AP Coach of the Year in 2021 and a national championship in 2023. If he never coached anywhere else, before or since, his tenure at Michigan alone would mark Harbaugh as a coaching great.
Now, there are great rumblings that the NFL has come a-knocking, and Michigan has reacted with a huge offer to try and keep Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines have reportedly offered a ten-year deal worth $125 million, which would make him one of the highest paid coaches in college football. But that still may not be enough. Harbaugh is reportedly looking for a deal in the region of $15 million per year.
The Los Angeles Chargers, the Chicago Bears, and the New England Patriots are all on the hunt for a coach and are reportedly showing great interest in Harbaugh.
Additionally, there are long-standing rumors that the Las Vegas Raiders may be interested in Harbaugh, which would be a temptation that could perhaps be too much to resist. When Oakland first made their move to Las Vegas, Harbaugh had said that he would be interested in the job were it offered. It was not offered at the time, but the time could now be right.
The Atlanta Falcons have also put themselves in the frame by firing Arthur Smith, and one thing that the deep south likes is winning football coaches. They could be ready to spend the money needed to tempt a proven winner down south.