Ahead of the biggest game of Jim Harbaugh’s college football coaching career, there was a great amount of uncertainty surrounding whether the Michigan Wolverines coach would return for another year in Ann Arbor. After Michigan’s convincing 34-13 win in the College Football Playoff National Championship, there should be no more questions about Harbaugh’s future.
Related: 5 Washington Commanders coaching candidates after Ron Rivera fired, including Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh has nothing left to prove at college level
Seriously, what does Harbaugh have left to prove at the college level? After coming just short of winning a Super Bowl, he said the next best thing was winning a ring in college. He’s done that now. There’s no point in returning to try and win back-to-back championships. All he would do by returning to Michigan is risk another coach getting the best of him, leading to some other pointed criticism toward the Michigan coach.
Chances are, other teams will bounce back in a big way next season, giving Michigan all they can handle now that the Wolverines have a target on their backs as defending champions. Harbaugh has nothing to gain by returning for a 10th season at Michigan, but he has everything to lose.
In the end, Harbaugh really only has one option: put all his eggs into the NFL basket, where he should have one of the best resumes among candidates in the current hiring cycle. Other coaches available, aside from maybe Bill Belichick (if he’s even available), don’t have the same recent success or even experience at the highest levels like Harbaugh does.
- Jim Harbaugh college coaching record: 117-46 (88-25 at Michigan)
- Jim Harbaugh NFL coaching record: 44-19-1
Not only does he check the ‘what have you done for me lately’ box by proving he can deliver Michigan a CFP National Championship, Harbaugh’s even brought an NFL team to the Super Bowl too, and nearly won, if it wasn’t for his older brother John Harbaugh’s Ravens beating him by just three points.
At this point, is there any question about Harbaugh being fit for the job? Plug him into any situation in the NFL, and he’ll find a way, just as he did at Michigan. With several current vacancies, like Atlanta, Carolina, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, and possibly more on the way, it’s hard to imagine the NFL finding five better candidates than Coach Harbaugh.
Related: Carolina Panthers reach out to future Hall of Famer for head coaching vacancy