Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has been rumored to potentially leave for the NFL for weeks now. While the Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants came up as potential suitors, the Minnesota Vikings jumped to the front of the line this weekend when news broke that they were interviewing him.
Now, the news is starting to trickle out that put the Miami Dolphins in the discussion for Harbaugh’s services, even if these are more like rumors than reports.
A former Dolphins employee who “retains connections to the team” told Outkick’s Armando Salguero that owner Stephen Ross will “do what he can” to hire Harbaugh if the coach really does want to return to the pros.
Had plugged in (former) #Dolphins employee who retains connections to the team tell me last nite he expects Steve Ross will do what he can to hire Jim Harbaugh if the Michigan coach is indeed considering leaving Michigan for NFL. We'll see.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 30, 2022
Have heard similar — Miami could be a Harbaugh landing spot. If in fact he gets an offer. He’s clearly interested in NFL reentry, as we’ve written for a while now — and we’ll see what comes/what he does. https://t.co/TeA9ruN9cr
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) January 30, 2022
Couple that with a tweet from longtime Chicago radio host and Fansided writer Mark Carman, who is saying that the Dolphins are much further along than that.
https://twitter.com/thecarm/status/1487874753658511362?s=21
We haven’t seen anyone else go out on a limb like that yet so we’ll see how it plays out. However, the Dolphins do make a lot of sense as a potential suitor to Harbaugh.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is not only a Michigan alum but he’s also a big-time donor to the football program, so he and Harbaugh are intimately aware of each other. Ross has gone on the record to say that he’s “not going to be the person to take Jim Harbaugh from the University of Michigan” when the team fired Brian Flores. However, if Harbaugh really is considering leaving Michigan, that absolves Ross of that responsibility in a way.
Brian Flores has been fired by the Dolphins, and I imagine owner Stephen Ross will go after Jim Harbaugh.
Ross graduated from Michigan, has donated $400 million to the school & has been enamored with Harbaugh for years.
He can also offer Harbaugh 2-3x what he makes at Michigan.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 10, 2022
We’ll see if there’s fire behind any of this smoke but if the Dolphins are able to land Harbaugh it will be a pretty big game-changer for their franchise. Wit ha 44-19 record and Super Bowl appearance in his four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, there are certainly plenty of owners who would love to have a coach like Harbaugh right now.
