Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is closing out a controversial season in pursuit of an elusive national championship, but the spotlight isn’t expected to dim after the season.
Harbaugh has flirted with a return to the NFL sidelines over the past two offseasons, and there’s a belief that teams will continue pursuing him during the upcoming hiring cycle. The Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers have already fired their coaches, and more openings are likely on the way within a couple of weeks.
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Harbaugh’s credentials are complicated, high-ranking team executives around the league said. While he’s a proven winner who can create a strong culture in the locker room, Harbaugh has a reputation for having contentious relationships with front-office personnel, so team owners must balance the entire equation while determining whether he’s right for the job.
“He’s well-respected as a football coach,” said a team executive, who, like the other sources in this story, was granted anonymity so he could speak openly. “He’s won everywhere he’s been, but what comes with it?”
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After successful stints as the head coach at the University of San Diego (2004-06) and Stanford (2007-10), Harbaugh quickly turned around a San Francisco 49ers organization that hadn’t delivered a winning record in eight consecutive seasons. Under his leadership from 2011-14, the Niners tallied 44 regular-season wins (fourth-most in the NFL), two NFC West titles and a trip to Super Bowl XLVII. But relationships had strained, and Harbaugh and the Niners agreed to split following an 8-8 season in 2014.
Harbaugh has coached his alma mater since 2015, but speculation has swirled for years that he could return to the NFL. He interviewed with the Vikings two years ago and the Broncos last offseason, when he also spoke with Panthers owner David Tepper about their vacancy.
This season, Harbaugh has served two separate suspensions — one self-imposed from Michigan for recruiting violations and another from the Big Ten relating to the program’s sign-stealing scandal — which has only furthered the notion the 60-year-old could be inclined to find a fresh start in the NFL.
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One executive believed Harbaugh’s approach would jell nicely with the Raiders’ brand. Or if the Bears opt for a coaching reset, the franchise’s first-round draft pick in 1987 would be marketed as an organizational savior. Because of Harbaugh’s strong personality and presence in front of the camera, he’d also shield his quarterback — whether it’s Justin Fields or a high draft pick such as Caleb Williams or Drake Maye — from some of the outside pressure that comes with the position.
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“I couldn’t tell you what individual teams will value, but I suspect some owner would take a look at a successful college coach with NFL experience,” another league executive said.
Harbaugh has leverage, assuming he isn’t worried about future ramifications from school and NCAA investigations. He has established Michigan as a consistent national powerhouse, and it surely appears he has the backing of the fan base despite the suspensions. Harbaugh could essentially ask for a blank check and personnel control.
“He can probably ask for whatever he wants,” the first executive said.
Of course, it’s up to the owner to decide whether to entertain those demands. First, the organization must decide why things went south for Harbaugh in San Francisco. How much blame does he deserve relative to ownership and high-ranking executives including former general manager Trent Baalke? How accountable is Harbaugh for his role in that departure? And has he taken steps toward self-improvement?
Similarly, each executive polled for this story said, Harbaugh isn’t the most popular figure among NFL front offices, including personnel people and scouts. One high-ranking executive said, despite years of visiting Harbaugh’s college programs, the head coach never spoke to him.
“I would think he’s going to garner interest (this hiring cycle),” another executive said. “But the GM pairing will be important.”
On the surface, that might come across as sour feelings that shouldn’t get in the way of winning football games at the NFL level, and there’s certainly merit to the idea of overcoming differences to work toward a common goal.
But what if it’s more than that? What if Harbaugh is set in his ways, and the 49ers’ fallout wasn’t a one-off event? Like it or not, every NFL head coach needs a building full of allies. When a team faces adversity — a controversy, a lost season or even a losing streak — it’s a necessity for everyone to rally together rather than split apart. Leaks, either to the owner or the media, can be the fastest way for a coach to lose the team and his job.
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“As a general manager, you have to be able to work with the head coach,” another executive said. “That’s very important. I’m not sure how many future GMs he’s close with.”
It’s fair to question whether Harbaugh would be a good fit in Carolina, where Tepper’s hands-on approach could become an issue. And if it becomes a bidding war for Harbaugh, there’s reason to believe the Chargers won’t be a primary suitor, though their ownership has said that entering their coaching search, “everything will be a possibility.”
The rest of the job openings will be important to watch. More so, will those teams keep their GM in place or allow Harbaugh to select his top personnel chief?
“Is he tough to work with?” an executive said. “What’s the chemistry going to be with the GM? You’ve got to be comfortable with his quirky personality.”
Next up on our top 10 videos of 2023 we have our No. 5 video… 〽️
When @UMichFootball's Jim Harbaugh gave @joelklatt this iconic response after he was asked how it feels to win 3-straight Big Ten Championships 🤣🏆 pic.twitter.com/DCDrT6DvMd
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 27, 2023
For an owner, Harbaugh would bring instant marketability and a track record suggesting success should be on the horizon. It’s logical to be attracted to a candidate with those attributes.
It’s also essential to assess the entire equation by talking to as many people as possible who have worked alongside Harbaugh over the past couple of decades. If there’s reason to believe he has evolved, great, Harbaugh should be viewed as a priority coaching candidate.
If there are still questions, the cost of winning may extend beyond the checkbook. That’s a level of comfortability an owner and their trusted front office must agree upon.
And it’ll continue to be a key talking point as Harbaugh prepares for Monday’s Rose Bowl against Alabama and a potential national championship appearance a week later. Because when Michigan’s season is done, NFL teams will attempt to seek necessary clarity on Harbaugh’s fit with their organization — if they haven’t started that process already.
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(Photo of Jim Harbaugh: David Berding / Getty Images)
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