Jim Harbaugh reaches out to Michigan legend about QB coach vacancy

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh watches warmups before a game against Northern Illinois at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.

Michigan is in the market for a new quarterbacks coach, and Jim Harbaugh has reached out to a Wolverines legend regarding the vacancy.

Maize & Blue Review’s Josh Henschke reported on Monday that Harbaugh reached out to Brian Griese about the vacancy. Henschke said that contact was made but he was unsure of the depths of the talks between the sides.

Griese played at Michigan from 1993-1997 and was the quarterback for the Wolverines’ 1997 national championship team. He played in the NFL from 1998-2008 and later went into broadcasting.

After two years as a commentator on “Monday Night Football,” Griese went into coaching. He is in his first season as the quarterbacks coach for the 49ers, who enjoyed success with multiple quarterbacks. Third-string QB Brock Purdy has gone undefeated and has them in the NFC championship game. The success of the Niners’ quarterbacks reflects well upon Griese.

In addition to Griese, Henschke reported that Michigan also reached out to Tavita Pritchard and Tee Martin about the job. Pritchard was a quarterback for Stanford during Harbaugh’s tenure as the Cardinal’s head coach. He has remained at Stanford ever since and has been their offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach since 2018. Martin, a former national championship quarterback at Tennessee, is the wide receivers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, which are coached by Jim’s brother, John.

Michigan is looking for a new coach after firing Matt Weiss for his alleged involvement in a crime. Weiss was Michigan’s quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.