Jim Harbaugh is torn over his coaching future and undecided whether to take the Michigan job or remain in the NFL.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Harbaugh wants to stay in the NFL, where he has been since taking over the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. However, his family and friends are encouraging him to take the Michigan job.
Harbaugh is in the fourth year of a 5-year contract with the 49ers, but it has been expected for several months that he would not return for the final year of his deal. He can wait to see which NFL head coaching jobs become available and take his pick among those, or he can return home to Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines reportedly are offering him a huge contract.
Harbaugh went to high school in Ann Arbor and played college ball at Michigan. His father, Jack, a former coach, knows the school’s interim athletic director Jim Hackett and is encouraging Harbaugh to go work with the man.
Harbaugh had tremendous success at both the University of San Diego and Stanford in college, and he went to three conference championship games in the NFL. There is no dispute over how good of a coach he is; he’s one of the best at any level. The only question is what he decides to do.
Knowing that Harbaugh’s heart is still in the NFL — which is something Michigan believes — we would be surprised if he went back to college. Harbaugh seems like a determined man. Once he has his goals, he is driven to achieve them. That probably means winning a Super Bowl rather than a national championship.
Harbaugh reportedly is expected to make a decision about his coaching future shortly after the regular season ends. The Niners’ last game is on Dec. 28.
