Could Harbaugh Abandon Michigan For The Packers?
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Jim Harbaugh is the highest-paid college football coach in the country. He's guided Michigan to a 20-4 record in his first two seasons in Ann Arbor. He receives nothing but support from the University - which also happens to be his alma mater.
He has no apparent reason to leave.
Still, when the NFL's Career Development Advisory Panel compiled its annual list of candidates for possible coaching and G.M. vacancies, Harbaugh was on it.
(Of note: Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was, too.)
A source told NBC's ProFootballTalk, "Harbaugh is on the list because he's a good coach, he is proving at Michigan that he wins wherever he goes, and he was a winner during his time with the 49ers."
As the report later points out, Harbaugh has a history of changing jobs. None of his four head-coaching gigs between college and the NFL have lasted for more than four years. This is his second season at Michigan.
Could the ever-striving Harbaugh make another move this offseason, one that sends him back to the NFL?
"Whether he does depends on whether a team can present him with an offer he can't refuse," says Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. "Which would imply that there must be an opportunity to win. Which would imply that there would be on the roster the most important ingredient for contention: A franchise quarterback."
The one team that fits that description, Florio suggests, is the Green Bay Packers.
Head coach Mike McCarthy has been rumored to be on the hot seat while quarterback Aaron Rodgers remains one of the best players in the NFL, his recent stats notwithstanding. If the 4-6 Packers fail to make the playoffs this season, McCarthy could be ushered out.
And Harbaugh, at least in theory, could be welcomed in.