Michigan Wolverines fans can take a deep breath: Beloved head coach Jim Harbaugh isn’t going anywhere.
On Sunday, the Wolverines were announced as one of four teams that will participate in the College Football Playoff National Championship. They will face the No. 3 ranked TCU Horned Frogs in one semi-final game on Dec. 31, with the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs facing the Ohio State Buckeyes in the other matchup.
Harbaugh was asked about his coaching future on Sunday, and he made it awfully clear where he plans to be in 2023, via ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren:
“That time of the year type of speculation, but I think no man knows the future. But I think that people that think we’ve done a good job and are pleased with the job that we’ve done here at Michigan, they’re going to be very happy to learn that we will be back enthusiastically coaching the Wolverines in 2023. And for those people that don’t approve of the job we’ve done or would rather see somebody else coaching here, I think they’ll be most likely disappointed to learn we’ll be back coaching the Wolverines and in 2023.”
On Sunday, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that “multiple NFL teams have been doing background work recently on Harbaugh.” One source even stated to them that they think “Harbaugh would consider a return to the NFL.”
Harbaugh left Stanford to coach the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. He had a marvelous four-year run there, including two NFC West division titles, three NFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to Super Bowl 47 — where they lost to John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens.
The 49ers and Harbaugh parted ways after a frustrating 8-8 season in 2014. Though it was announced as a mutual split, it’s widely believed that Harbaugh simply lost a power struggle with then-49ers GM Trent Baalke.
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If Harbaugh leads the Wolverines to a national championship, it would only lead to increased interest from NFL teams who are looking to fill a head coaching vacancy. But the 58-year-old did sign a lucrative five-year contract extension with Michigan last season, and their continued success will make it very hard for him to walk away.
But Harbaugh’s future is something for Wolverines fans to worry about another day. Right now, his focus is on leading this team to its first national championship since 1997.
