Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh was with the rest of his team at Disneyland in Southern California on Wednesday as they prepare for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
In addition to having his team play for a potential national championship, Harbaugh has been in the news for a lot of reasons recently.
That includes multiple suspensions during the 2023 college football season. One came for alleged recruiting violations. Harbaugh, 60, was also suspended for the end of the regular season after a video-taping scandal.
The backdrop here are continued rumors linking Harbaugh to NFL head coach openings, including the Los Angeles Chargers.
Harbaugh was asked about that in a Q&A with the media Wednesday evening. Specifically, he was asked about the Chargers’ opening after they fired Brandon Staley earlier in the season.
In typical Harbaugh fashion, he did not answer the question. It will raise further speculation that the highly-respected head coach could in fact make his way to the NFL.
“One-track mind” and “dominate the day.” Talk about coach speak if we’ve ever heard it.
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Harbaugh could have answered the question directly and committed to remaining with Michigan. Instead, his non-response is going to add more speculation that he is preparing to leave the Wolverines.
Harbaugh has been offered a 10-year, $125 million contract extension to stay in Ann Arbor. However, said offer comes with a caveat. It includes a clause that he can’t seek out NFL head coach openings during this cycle. Harbaugh has yet to sign the extension.
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Harbaugh definitely has a connection with Chargers owner Dean Spanos and the Southern California football scene. He played for the then-San Diego Chargers back in 1999 and 2000 as the quarterback closed out his playing career.
Harbaugh was also the University of San Diego head coach from 2004-2006 before making his way to the Stanford Cardinal and ultimately the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Potential interest in Harbaugh would make a ton of sense. Los Angeles committed a record contract to quarterback Justin Herbert this past offseason. It needs to build a coaching staff to Herbert’s strengths.
For his part, Harbaugh has had a ton of success with quarterbacks throughout his career. That included Andrew Luck at Stanford as well as Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers. He’d be an ideal hire.