With Michigan’s season over and the Wolverines again coming up short at the final hurdle, rumors are swirling that they could lose their head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. Looking to sign Harbaugh as their next coach are the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Right now, Harbaugh is believed to be leaning more towards the Panthers since he likes the roster.
Tepper hoping to lure Harbaugh to Carolina
Jim Harbaugh may believe he’s accomplished all he can with Michigan. For the second straight season, Michigan was eliminated in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff, ending their season. And from reports, it seems Jim Harbaugh is eager to join his brother, John, in the NFL again. John is the current coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Jim was previously the coach of the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons before heading to Michigan in 2015. However, it’s a couple of different teams vying for his services this time around.
The Carolina Panthers look like favorites if Harbaugh wants to make the leap back to the pros. Harbaugh is said to prefer the Panthers’ roster to the Broncos’ and would avoid superstar quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert in divisional play.
Sources say Panthers owner David Tepper and Harbaugh had a discussion about the position that will become available at the end of the 2022 NFL season. They have not gone so far as to say that it was an interview. However, Tepper likely would have been looking to sell the Panthers to Harbaugh in that chat. They have plenty of draft capital and a reasonable young core to build in Charlotte, and Harbaugh has said he has “serious interest” in returning to the pro ranks.
Jim Harbaugh has been in contact with Panthers owner David Tepper about his job as head coach.
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Tepper has said he would not hire a college coach again after Matt Rhule turned out to be a disaster. However, Harbaugh has NFL pedigree. In four years with the 49ers, Harbaugh’s record was an impressive 44-19-1.
The Panthers would still have to interview two minority coaches because of the Rooney Rule. Current interim coach Steve Wilks is probably one of those candidates.
