Getty Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines walks on the field after winning the Big Ten Football Championship game against the the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 4, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings hosted Jim Harbaugh for a second interview Wednesday, and at least one current NFL head coach has a strong opinion on what the team should do next.
John Harbaugh, who leads the Baltimore Ravens‘ sideline, was asked by reporters February 2 for his thoughts on the extensive head coaching search taking place in Minnesota and featuring his brother. John Harbaugh did not mince words when it came to advocating for Jim Harbaugh, the current head coach at the University of Michigan and former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Harbaugh on his brother: “Is he interviewing in Minnesota? Is that the rumor? I think he’s in Minnesota. … I think he’s the best. IF the Minnesota Vikings are smart enough to get that done, then they made a very wise choice.”
“Is he interviewing in Minnesota? Is that the rumor? I think he’s in Minnesota,” Harbaugh said Wednesday, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic-Baltimore. “I think he’s the best. If the Minnesota Vikings are smart enough to get that done, then they made a very wise choice.”
Harbaugh Intent on Vikings Job if Offered, Per Insider Report
GettyHead coach Jim Harbaugh, of the Michigan Wolverines, could return to the NFL in 2022.
The news out of Ann Arbor, Michigan continues to suggest that Harbaugh will accept the head coaching job in Minnesota should the Vikings offer it.
“He is going there to get this job,” Sam Webb, host of the Michigan Insider, said Monday on the Dan Patrick Show. “Everyone that I talk to, whether they be around Ann Arbor, agents in the NFL that I talk to — they all expect that if the Minnesota Vikings offer Jim Harbaugh this job, he will take it.”
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Harbaugh was in competition with three other candidates for the top spot in Minneapolis as of Monday, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pelissero sorted out the details following news that 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, once considered a top candidate for the Vikings job because of his connection to newly-hired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, had taken a pass on a second interview with the team.
“#49ers DC DeMeco Ryans declined a second interview with the #Vikings, per source, opting to further his development in San Francisco,” Pelissero reported. “So four remain in Minnesota’s head coaching search: #Rams OC Kevin O’Connell and DC Raheem Morris, #Giants DC Patrick Graham and Jim Harbaugh.”
Vikings Ownership Has Expressed Reticence Over Harbaugh
Courtesy of VikingsMinnesota Vikings general manger Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Like Ryans, Harbaugh has a relationship with Adofo-Mensah that stretches back years to when the Vikings GM was just starting out in the NFL as part of the 49ers organization.
Harbaugh served as head coach in San Francisco between 2011-14. During that time, he amassed a 44-19-1 record and never recorded a losing season. The Niners made the playoffs during Harbaugh’s first three campaigns, going as far as the NFC Championship Game each time and reaching the Super Bowl in 2012-13. Harbaugh and the 49ers lost that Super Bowl to John Harbaugh and the Ravens by a score of 34-31.
Webb reported via his 247 sports blog Monday that despite Harbaugh’s NFL success and his ties to the Minnesota’s new GM, Vikings ownership still needs convincing that they aren’t hiring another version of recently fired head coach Mike Zimmer, who earned a reputation over the years as a notoriously hard person with whom to work.
“Harbaugh is at the top of Adofo-Mensah’s list, but Michigan’s headman still needs to be sold to others in the organization,” Webb wrote.
Webb added that there exists a “…perception in league circles that [Harbaugh] can be tough to deal with.”
“If Harbaugh does well in addressing those concerns, he will be offered the job,” Webb continued.
The Vikings are expected to conclude their second interview with Harbaugh Wednesday and make a decision on a new coach by the end of the week.