Jim Harbaugh needs to either leave or say no to the NFL

Since Jim Harbaugh was hired in late-2014, the story has remained the same. After every Michigan football season — the good ones and the bad — the NFL comes knocking in hopes that he will make a return. Right now, as the Wolverines continue to build momentum towards winning a National Championship, Jim Harbaugh needs to either leave or tell the NFL off.

Harbaugh should say no to the NFL

In the media availability leading up to Michigan’s CFP matchup with TCU, Jim Harbaugh was asked if he would be leaving Michigan at season’s end. His response was clear as day:

“I will be back enthusiastically coaching the Wolverines in 2023. And for those people that don’t approve of the job we have done or would rather see somebody else coaching here, I think they will be most likely disappointed I’ll be back coaching the Wolverines in 2023.”

This news was great for Michigan football fans; after all, Jim Harbaugh is 25-3 over the past two seasons and boasts back-to-back wins over Ohio State and Big Ten Championships. While the news was nice to hear at first, the Wolverines’ head coach may have spoken too soon.

Jim Harbaugh has NFL interest already

About 24 hours after Michigan’s 13-1 season came to a close, the Denver Broncos had already reached out to gauge interest in filling their head coaching vacancy. While no one knows what Harbaugh’s response was, we can infer that he did not shut them down seeing as the NFL is still in hot pursuit.

In fact, since the Broncos reached out, many more teams have gone after Harbaugh, such as the Panthers and the Colts.

Harbaugh could be interested in the NFL as well

According to Bruce Feldman and many Michigan football insiders, the Wolverines’ head coach is interested in making a return to the National Football League, and will leave Michigan if an NFL team offers him a job.

Last year we saw a similar series of events as Harbaugh attempted to leave Michigan after his first Big Ten Championship win with the Wolverines. As of right now, no one knows much of anything (including the insiders ); however, there are solid grounds to believe that Jim Harbaugh is trying to leave Michigan for the NFL.

Jim Harbaugh needs to make up his mind

It appears to be clear that Jim Harbaugh is quite interested in an NFL head coaching job, and for that I do not fault him. That being said, for the sake of Michigan’s program, he must make up his mind and do so immediately.

Last year, this song and dance with the NFL killed much of the Wolverines’ recruiting momentum — the longer this goes on, the more it will hurt Michigan football. If Jim Harbaugh wants to leave, he should do so immediately and give the keys to someone else. Enough with the fake loyalty that fades the second a new job opens up.

On the other hand, if Jim Harbaugh plans on staying, he needs to kill these NFL rumors ASAP. It is one thing for rumors to fly on message boards, and another for the top talking heads in college football and most-trustworthy Michigan insiders to be reporting it.

If the plan is to leave, then go ahead. If not, make that clear so that Michigan can start preparing for a National Championship run in 2023.