Jim Harbaugh’s name has quickly risen to the top of the list of potential coaching candidates for NFL teams this season. But will the Michigan man leave his alma mater, especially after his most successful season on the job?
According to some sources, he could. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported on Wednesday night that some on the Michigan football program believed that Harbaugh would leave Ann Arbor for Las Vegas if the Raiders offered him the job.
The Raiders didn’t offer the job to Harbaugh, or anyone for that matter – not even interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who is the star rusher Maxx Crosby has publicly supported. Bisaccia did Wednesday job interview, and led Las Vegas to the knockout stages after a mid-season takeover following the termination of former coach Jon Gruden’s contract.
Harbaugh has been in Michigan for the past seven seasons, with this most recent campaign easily the most successful. In the end, Harbaugh not only defeated Ohio State but also led the Wolverines to win the Big Ten and the College Football League for the first time, winning AP Coach of the Year honors in the process.
The 58-year-old coach is no stranger to the NFL or the Raiders organization, as he began his coaching career as the team’s quarterback coach from 2002-03. He was then hired as a head coach at the University of San Diego, where he spent three seasons before taking a job as head coach at Stanford.
After four years at Palo Alto with his 2011 Orange Bowl victory, Harbaugh packed up and headed about an hour north to San Francisco, back in the NFL ranks to coach the 49ers. It didn’t take long for him to find success, as he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2013 and another NFC championship the following season.
He was not retained after the 2014 season, and was soon appointed head coach at Michigan. Harbaugh was an All-Big 10 quarterback for the Wolverines during his game days prior to his NFL career in which he made a Pro Bowl and was inducted into the Colts Ring of Honor.
Harbaugh currently has a contract with Michigan until the end of the 2025 season after extending it for another four years in early 2021.
