University of Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh, who once led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl, could be interested in an NFL return once again, according to a report.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport noted on Sunday morning that teams are “doing their homework” on Harbaugh, who has led the Wolverines to the Big Ten Championship and will be the No. 2 seed in this season’s College Football Playoff.
Despite Harbaugh saying he wouldn’t pursue an NFL job again after interviewing with the Vikings last offseason, the report cites one source who believes he’d consider returning to pro football. Another source, who’s part of a team that could be conducting a search for a new head coach, told NFL Network that “they believe Harbaugh would discuss an opening if asked and weigh the right situation.”
In his lone NFL coaching stint, Harbaugh led the 49ers to a 44-19-1 regular-season record between 2011-14, which included a Super Bowl loss to the Baltimore Ravens in February 2013, and three consecutive trips to at least the NFC Championship game from 2011-13.
Since taking the Michigan job prior to the 2015 campaign, Harbaugh’s gone 74-24 and will make his second appearance in the College Football Playoff this season after losing to eventual national champion Georgia in last year’s Orange Bowl, 34-11. This is Michigan’s fifth double-digit win season since Harbaugh took over, and in the College Football Playoff, they’ll face TCU in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
The winner will take on the victor between No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State, played that same evening, in the National Championship at SoFi Stadium on January 9.
