It’s been over a month now since current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took a different type of visit. One that was fixated around his future, instead of another recruit’s commitment status. We’re talking about when the esteemed coach sat down with the Minnesota Vikings organization, hoping to land their then-vacant head coaching gig.
At first, it appeared as though the Vikings would be able to hire Harbaugh, with the former NFL coach having great interest in making a return to the big leagues. But the Vikings unexpectedly never even made the former quarterback an offer. It was a move few, if anyone saw coming.
Since then, Harbaugh has signed a new extension, one that pays him even more than before to stay on as the program leader in Ann Arbor. He’s also mentioned how he won’t be messing around, flirting with the NFL anymore, he’s a Michigan man for good.
Yet even a month later, the fact that Harbaugh even was open to sitting down with an NFL club is interesting. It shows there was genuine interest in leaving Michigan, despite him somehow now being all-in again. As they say, money talks.
But for Harbaugh, why did he take the interview with the Vikings? Was he playing them all along in an effort to squeeze Michigan into sweetening his contract? Probably not, but he did finally address the question of why he was interested to begin with. As you might have guessed, it has to do with his contract, but not necessarily the dollar amount, according to Harbaugh himself.
“When I came here in January of 2015, I signed a seven-year deal and seven years was up,” said Harbaugh, when asked about his decision to meet with the Vikings, via WXYZ Detroit’s Brad Galli. “And yeah, that’s what precipitated it—to see if that was something that I wanted to do or take a look at it.”
Jim Harbaugh on perceived Minnesota Vikings interest
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Minnesota Vikings will forever be a “what if” for Jim Harbaugh
Since then, the Minnesota Vikings have obviously moved on, to who inevitably was their top option all along by hiring former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, fresh off a Super Bowl victory. Now he’s faced with the task of bringing Minnesota their first league championship in the Super Bowl era.
For Harbaugh and the Vikings, fans will forever be left wondering what could have been. Here Harbaugh is one of the five all-time winningest head coaches in NFL history, having gone to two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl, albeit never winning a ring.
Now he says he’s done chasing rings, but we’re not so sure. That desire doesn’t simply vanish in thin air like Frodo when he puts on the “Precious” ring.
Ultimately, if O’Connell and Co. fall short of their Championship goals, fans will never let the Wilf ownership hear the end of it. Especially if Jim Harbaugh continues to lead a strong Michigan Wolverines program over the next few seasons.
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