Jim Harbaugh Sounds Desperate to Leave Michigan
After finally slaying the Ohio State dragon, Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh seems to believe he's done everything he set out to do at his alma mater and is ready to bolt the collegiate levels and return to the lucratively-greener pastures of the NFL.
Don't believe me? Just listen to Jay Glazer and the father of one of Harbaugh's recruits, who both paint the picture of a coach desperate to leave college and return to the NFL.
Glazer reported today on the Fox pregame show that Harbaugh is already reaching out to coordinators to vet their interest in teaming with him if he gets a head coaching job in the NFL.
jay glazer on jim harbaugh possibly returning to the nfl pic.twitter.com/rC1EhjUHny
— Muhtacin (@muhtacinm) January 9, 2022
This comes a few days after the father of Darrius Clemons, one of Harbaugh's recruits, said Harbaugh admitted to Clemons he's willing to "entertain" returning to the NFL.
These sound like the actions of a man with one foot already out of Ann Arbor.
There are expected to be plenty of NFL head coach openings this offseason. The Broncos just fired their head coach. The Bears are expected to do the same. The Raiders, Texans, Jaguars, Giants and Seahawks jobs could also open up. With his resume in the NFL, Harbaugh has to feel confident he would get one of the potential seven openings.
Harbaugh went 41-19-1 in four years as the 49ers head coach and never had a losing record. He led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance, made the playoffs three times and went 5-3 once there. For a team on the verge of the playoffs (like the Broncos, Raiders and Seahawks), that's the kind of resume you're looking for.
As for Harbaugh, the fact that he's already laying the ground work for his exit from Michigan suggests he did what he set out to do at the school he played quarterback for years ago. He won the Big Ten Championship this year, beat Ohio State and made the College Football Playoffs.
Before the season, he took a pay cut at Michigan following six years of losing to OSU. Now he can return to the NFL, get a big payday and not need to deal with the hassles of recruiting. No wonder he wants out of Michigan so bad.