Jim Harbaugh has been linked with several NFL jobs since Michigan’s college football season ended. Harbaugh recently declared that he would be staying at Michigan, but NFL Network Insider, Ian Rapoport says that Harbaugh is now the favorite to be the next head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Harbaugh the big name new Broncos owners are seeking
The Denver Broncos are apparently looking to the college football ranks for their next head coach. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh is the favorite to take over the reins in the Mile High City according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Harbaugh is the “favorite” to be the next Broncos coach.
If he doesn’t sign an extension with Michigan soon, expect an “in person interview at some point”
Per @RapSheet pic.twitter.com/2LBq83uke5
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) January 14, 2023
“University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh interviewed virtually for more than two hours this past Monday,” Rapoport said. “[He] might have an in-person interview at some point, if the school doesn’t sign him to an extension first. Along with [Sean] Payton, Harbaugh entered the process among the favorites for the Broncos’ new regime and would be the type of big fish Denver’s new ownership wants to reel in.”
Denver fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett at the end of December after he won just four of his first 15 games in charge. Now, the Broncos will focus on bringing in a name to replace him.
Harbaugh was also in the running for the Carolina Panthers job, but released a statement saying he was committed to Michigan.
“As I stated in December, while no one knows what the future holds, I expect that I will be enthusiastically coaching Michigan in 2023,” Harbaugh said in the statement. However, just a few days later, Michigan announced they were under investigation from the NCAA for recruiting violations.
While that has not stopped the Wolverines wanting to lock up Harbaugh for the future, sanctions from the violations could hurt Michigan in the short-term. That could be enough for Harbaugh to make his way back to the NFL, where he previously coached the San Francisco 49ers.
