Is Jim Harbaugh about to coach his final game at Michigan before heading back to the NFL?
Former Michigan star Taylor Lewan says there’s a strong possibility that Harbaugh will leave Michigan (14-0) after coaching against Washington (14-0) in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday night in Houston.
I think it’s a strong possibility, I really do, Lewan, a two-time first-team All-American at Michigan who was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, said Tuesday on ESPN’s Get Up!
I think they’re going to be in good hands. I think that [offensive coordinator] Sherrone Moore should be the next head coach at the University of Michigan. He’s done a phenomenal job. But when you look at the allegations [of recruiting violations, if they believe that something is going to happen, he knows he’s going to be wanted.
He knows the Chargers and the Raiders and the Bears and everybody is going to want Jim Harbaugh and he’s going to have the opportunity to [leave] similar to the way that Pete Carroll did. I don’t want it to happen…But at the end of the day this is a business and I think we’re going to end up in a situation where Harbaugh is in the NFL after this season.
Harbaugh, 60, previously coached both the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. He was 44-19 in San Francisco with three NFC Championship game appearances and a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.
Harbaugh was asked after his top-seeded Wolverines beat No. 4 Alabama, 27-20 in the CFP semifinals if it might be his last game at his alma mater.
My future consists of a happy flight back to Ann Arbor, Michigan, he said while completely dodging the question.
Harbaugh faced two different three-game suspensions this past season, one related to NCAA recruiting violations and one for the sign-stealing scandal.
That, combined with the fact that Harbaugh recently hired agent NFL agent Don Yee has fed the narrative that he may return to the NFL. He has been linked to the Chargers, Raiders, and Bears.
Yee was Tom Brady’s agent, and Brady is reportedly interested in buying part of the Raiders.
He is going to be in serious demand a week from today for the NFL, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said of Harbaugh on Get Up! while also mentioning the Chargers and Bears.
Not one time out in Pasadena did he ever put that to bed, he added. He dodged it, he gave word salads and then he completely ignored the question by saying I can’t wait to get back to Ann Arbor.
He also has the NCAA around the corner, and that’s really the issue.
Finebaum was asked by Mike Greenberg if a Michigan win on Monday would mean their national championship would be tainted, and his response was emphatic.
I don’t think so, he said.
While a lot of us find what we believe the case to be here to be repugnant, almost everything about college football right now is repugnant. So I think Michigan, if they win, they’ll hoist the trophy, there will be haters out there, but most people I think are going to go, ‘Congratulations, you were the best team.’
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