Getty Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
With Michigan getting blown out by Georgia 34-11 in the college football playoff, all eyes will be on head coach Jim Harbaugh soon. Prior to this season, it looked like his days in Ann Arbor could be numbered. However, he turned the Wolverines around this year and beat Ohio State. Instead of being shown the door, Harbaugh could be looking at a contract extension in the near future.
That is unless he has eyes for the NFL again. Though he only spent four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, his 44-19 record gives him the fifth-best winning percentage of any coach in league history. The Las Vegas Raiders have been linked to Harbaugh for years, going back to his time at Stanford. He got his coaching start with the silver and black in 2002 as their quarterbacks coach. That season, Rich Gannon won the MVP and the Raiders went to the Super Bowl.
Harbaugh finally has Michigan back on track but this could be a good time to jump ship. He’s a good college coach but he was a great NFL coach. Perhaps he’s just a better fit in the pros. NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks, who played for the Raiders in 1998, believes that Harbaugh could strongly consider the NFL this year.
“This is the perfect time for it to make sense,” Brooks said of Harbaugh possibly joining the Raiders. “If you’re Jim Harbaugh, you parlayed taking a pay cut and having your contract reduced into a major payday.”
Beyond his ability as a coach, Brooks believes that Harbaugh is perfect for the Raiders brand.
“You think about someone who can embrace the brand of the Raiders, he absolutely can do it. And in fact, he could probably do it in a way that is very similar to the way Jon Gruden embraced it but in a different style. And if you look at the way the team is presently constructed, he can find a way to win with that team as they’re built.”
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Does Playoff Loss Increase Chance Harbaugh Leaves Michigan?
Michigan has to be feeling better about its future after this season but there’s a real chance Harbaugh would’ve been fired if the team was average. Does one good season save the coach for the next several years? What if the Wolverines lose to Ohio State next season and are just average again? Had Harbaugh led the team to a National Championship this year, he could’ve written his ticket for the rest of his career. However, getting blown out by Georgia isn’t a good sign that they’ll be in the big game next year.
Harbaugh would love to bring a title to his alma mater but it could be time to leave. He may have reached a ceiling with this team. It’s going to be incredibly difficult for him to beat SEC teams. In the NFL, he doesn’t have to worry about simply being out recruited by Nick Saban and other coaches. If he believes that he’s reached his ceiling at Michigan, then the NFL makes the most sense for him.
Would Raiders Want Harbaugh?
Harbaugh coming to the Raiders would be a long time coming. In fact, he probably would’ve already been the head coach of the team if Al or Mark Davis had their way. While there are some fans who don’t like the idea of Harbaugh coming to Las Vegas, he may be the right guy to get them over the hump.
In his four seasons in San Francisco, he had more winning seasons than the Raiders have had in the last 19 seasons. He also never had a losing record. The reason things soured with the 49ers is that Harbaugh couldn’t get along with ownership or the front office. Davis has a strong relationship with the Harbaugh family and would likely give the coach control on personnel matters. It would be a much more harmonious situation for him.
The Raiders have a solid roster and they are in the playoff race with an interim head coach. Getting a strong voice like Harbaugh in there right now could be exactly what they need to get over the hump. The 49ers were 6-10 the year before Harbaugh was hired. In his first season, they went 13-3 and went to the NFC Championship game. He’s exactly the kind of coach the Raiders should be trying to hire this offseason.
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