The annual Jim Harbaugh NFL sweepstakes are officially underway and once again it sounds like the Michigan head coach might just consider a move back to the big leagues despite what he said this time last year.
On Sunday, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reported that a source “with knowledge of the situation” told him the Denver Broncos had reached out to Harbaugh about filling their head coaching vacancy after firing Nathaniel Hackett.
A day later, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, Nicole Auerbach, and Austin Meek are reporting that if Broncos make Harbaugh an official offer, it’s a “done deal.”
https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1609988500455297024
“Multiple sources close to the coach told The Athletic on Monday they expect Harbaugh will leave Michigan for the NFL if a franchise offers him a coaching job,” they wrote.
They noted that Harbaugh’s buyout is just $3 million and decreases every year on his current deal. He can also be fired for cause if he searches for a job without telling his athletic director, according to his contract.
Harbaugh interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings job last year and was reportedly very interested in taking it. But the team decided not to hire him and he returned to the Wolverines and signed a contract extension, saying at the time that “from here on out” he was committed to coaching them.
“From here on out, I’m working at the pleasure of the University of Michigan, because that’s, in my heart, where I want to be,” said Harbaugh in February 2022.
Few people believed Harbaugh at the time and it seems as though the assumption that he would still jump to the NFL if given the chance was the right call.
Harbaugh is coming off back-to-back Big Ten Championships and College Football Playoff berths with the Wolverines, but the chance to win a Super Bowl might just be too much for him to pass up.
