Shocking Twist: NFL Insider Hint on Jim Harbaugh’s Potential Return to Michigan For This Reason
For the third year in a row, rumors are spreading of Jim Harbaugh’s potential return to the NFL, if any team is willing to take him.
Previous years have seen him interview for NFL head coaching vacancies. He even sat down for a second interview with the Minnesota Vikings in January of 2022. The Vikings decided to hire Kevin O’Connell instead, which led Harbaugh back to Michigan. Yet, Harbaugh got the last laugh by winning the CFP National Championship a year later.
Now, coming off his best season as a college football head coach yet, Harbaugh has nothing left to prove with the Michigan Wolverines. This has more people expecting the coach to take his talent back to the NFL, where there are currently five head coaching vacancies.
So far, Harbaugh has interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons, with whom he has a second meeting set for next week. But that doesn’t guarantee that Michigan is set to lose their head coach.
Jim Harbaugh’s contract demands could leave him without an NFL team, again.
Just like we’ve seen in previous seasons, Jim Harbaugh may be going through the motions of returning to the NFL, but that doesn’t mean he’s already decided to leave the Wolverines. In fact, some NFL insiders wonder if the legendary head coach may be left with no choice but to head back to Michigan in 2024.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggests some within league circles believe Harbaugh is trying to drive up his price to get every last dollar he can from an NFL owner willing to hire him. Florio says this approach could force him back to Michigan.
With the Falcons already completing two interviews with Bill Belichick, the belief is that he’s the current frontrunner in Atlanta. If so, that removes one potential landing spot for Harbaugh. That leaves the Chargers as the only team officially linked to Harbaugh. Yet what if they hire someone else after balking at the coach’s asking price, which is sure to place him among the highest-paid coaches in the NFL? This could once again leave Harbaugh without a spot in the NFL.
Basically, if money is what’s motivating Harbaugh instead of chasing Super Bowls, he could find himself without a dance partner when the 2024 season begins. And a lot of it could be due to greed, or in other words, knowing his worth as a championship-caliber coach.