Denver Broncos reportedly targeting Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh

Just one day ago, Michigan football fans watched as their Wolverines dropped their first game of the season. Michigan fought hard, but could not overcome its own mistakes. After a brutal, nail-biting game, the Wolverines fell to TCU, 51-45.

Broncos targeting Jim Harbaugh

Unlike Harbaugh and the Wolverines, the Broncos’ season is not going very well. Despite coming into the year with Super Bowl-caliber expectations, Denver has fallen off the map and currently sits at 4-12 after today’s loss at Kansas City.

Around two weeks ago, the Broncos fired former head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Now, Denver has a new head man in mind: Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.

The Broncos have reached out to Jim Harbaugh, informing him they are interested in talking to him about their open head coach job, per @ProFootballTalk.

— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) January 2, 2023

Sunday night, many sources confirmed that the Broncos are actively targeting Jim Harbaugh to fill its coaching vacancy heading into the 2023-24 NFL season.

You can’t blame the Broncos

Honestly, after the last two seasons of Michigan football, you can’t blame the Broncos for seeking out Jim Harbaugh. Michigan football fans should be used to this song and dance by now; however, Harbaugh flirting with the NFL a year ago should have most fans on-edge.

Since arriving at Michigan, Harbaugh has done a great job turning the Wolverines’ failing program around. In the seven full seasons before Harbaugh’s arrival, Michigan football had a 46-42 overall record with many losing seasons and one 10-win year (2011).

In Harbaugh’s seven full seasons, he is 72-21 overall with five 10-win seasons, two Big Ten Championships, two College Football Playoff appearances, and will now have three top-10 finishes. Harbaugh’s best season was in 2022 when the Wolverines went 13-1 overall, and his worst was in 2017 as Michigan finished 8-4 in the regular season before losing to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

Should Jim Harbaugh leave?

Last year, after Michigan football went 12-2 and won the Big Ten Championship, the Wolverines’ head coach was in Minnesota interviewing for the Vikings’ head coaching position on National Signing Day. Michigan football fans were upset, and rightfully so.

Harbaugh’s NFL stunt killed Michigan’s recruiting momentum and gave fans a sense of distrust in Harbaugh’s future in the Maize and Blue. Now, a year later, we are getting that same feeling once again as the NFL will attempt to pry Jim Harbaugh from Ann Arbor.

But does it make sense to leave? Is Harbaugh even interested in an NFL job? I don’t think so, and here is why.

Harbaugh just turned 59 years old and will be entering the final stages of his coaching career. His family and life are all located in the beautiful city of Ann Arbor where he is treated like the biggest celebrity in town.

On top of that, Michigan is playing its best football right now, boasting a 25-3 record over the last two seasons, two-straight wins over Ohio State, two-straight Big Ten Championships, and two-straight CFP appearances.

Everything that Harbaugh has worked to build at Michigan is coming to fruition, and heading into 2023, I’d expect Michigan football to be favored to win the Big Ten for the third-straight season. Leaving now for a piss-poor Broncos team seems somewhat foolish, but then again, you never know.

Personally, I don’t think Harbaugh will leave for the NFL this year. He promised that he would stay after last year’s stunt and even shut down these rumors earlier this season. I’d like to think Jim Harbaugh is here to stay, but at the end of the day, Harbaugh is the only one that truly knows where he will be next year.