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Grantland's NFL writer on the possibility of Harbaugh to Michigan:
Most Overblown Coaching Rumor of the Year: Jim Harbaugh to Michigan
I get the alma mater thing. Jim Harbaugh went to Michigan. Michigan is an institutional mess right now. Harbaugh isn’t exactly on the greatest of terms with 49ers general manager Trent Baalke or his players these days, which was part of why he almost went to Cleveland this offseason. Put two and two together and you get Harbaugh to Michigan. Sure.
One question, though: Why would Harbaugh want to take a step backward? Is the pull of coaching Michigan really that strong? The Wolverines aren’t a very good football team, and it’ll take years to recruit and rebuild them into a national powerhouse. The money won’t be better; Michigan can surely afford to match the $5 million Harbaugh’s making now, but his next NFL contract should put Harbaugh in the range of $7.5 million per year, a figure only Nick Saban can approach in the college ranks.
And a second question: Has anybody ever done this before? Has a successful NFL coach in the prime of his career left, in the middle of a run of success, to go run a college program? I can’t think of a recent example. The likes of Saban, Pete Carroll, and Bobby Petrino all came back to college football after disappointing seasons as NFL head coaches. If Harbaugh left after two or three disappointing, sub-.500 seasons, that would be more understandable, but NFL head coaches seem to return to the college ranks only when they can’t get another NFL head coaching job.
That’s not a problem for Harbaugh, not right now. Even if the 49ers go 8-8 this year and the two sides agree to mutually part ways, he’ll have his pick of a number of jobs next year. It’s not impossible to imagine Miami owner Stephen Ross, who wanted Harbaugh in 2011, offering him the chance to be both head coach and general manager as part of a hiring package. The Rams could offer Harbaugh a talent-rich roster in need of a quarterback, in a very similar situation to what Harbaugh entered into when he joined the 49ers three years ago. Prestigious jobs like the Cowboys and Giants could open up and easily make Harbaugh the highest-paid coach at any level. Michigan just isn’t on this list.
I get the alma mater thing. Jim Harbaugh went to Michigan. Michigan is an institutional mess right now. Harbaugh isn’t exactly on the greatest of terms with 49ers general manager Trent Baalke or his players these days, which was part of why he almost went to Cleveland this offseason. Put two and two together and you get Harbaugh to Michigan. Sure.
One question, though: Why would Harbaugh want to take a step backward? Is the pull of coaching Michigan really that strong? The Wolverines aren’t a very good football team, and it’ll take years to recruit and rebuild them into a national powerhouse. The money won’t be better; Michigan can surely afford to match the $5 million Harbaugh’s making now, but his next NFL contract should put Harbaugh in the range of $7.5 million per year, a figure only Nick Saban can approach in the college ranks.
And a second question: Has anybody ever done this before? Has a successful NFL coach in the prime of his career left, in the middle of a run of success, to go run a college program? I can’t think of a recent example. The likes of Saban, Pete Carroll, and Bobby Petrino all came back to college football after disappointing seasons as NFL head coaches. If Harbaugh left after two or three disappointing, sub-.500 seasons, that would be more understandable, but NFL head coaches seem to return to the college ranks only when they can’t get another NFL head coaching job.
That’s not a problem for Harbaugh, not right now. Even if the 49ers go 8-8 this year and the two sides agree to mutually part ways, he’ll have his pick of a number of jobs next year. It’s not impossible to imagine Miami owner Stephen Ross, who wanted Harbaugh in 2011, offering him the chance to be both head coach and general manager as part of a hiring package. The Rams could offer Harbaugh a talent-rich roster in need of a quarterback, in a very similar situation to what Harbaugh entered into when he joined the 49ers three years ago. Prestigious jobs like the Cowboys and Giants could open up and easily make Harbaugh the highest-paid coach at any level. Michigan just isn’t on this list.
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