Black Monday is almost amongst us, here in the coming weeks, NFL teams will clean house and set their sights on new coaching staffs to come in and shift the culture. The NFL is not a league that takes mea culpa lightly, with millions of dollars being poured into coaches and their staffs, one screw-up and you could easily find yourself on the hot seat just as quickly as you got hired.
Following Michigan’s stunning loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl in the College Football Playoff, it’s become clear that there’s a deep divide between the maize and blue and head coach Jim Harbaugh. So much so that the rumor mill has made it evident that Harbaugh is eyeing key open slots in the league, including vacancies in Carolina and the freshly evicted role in Denver.
Carolina fired head coach Matt Rhule in Week 5 following a blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers and interim coach Steve Wilks has been the team’s placeholder ever since. After last week’s game L against Tampa Bay, the Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention, essentially paving the path for Wilks to be replaced with a more long-term option.
Panthers owner David Tepper has talked to Harbaugh about the vacancy, growing a stronger bond between the Michigan head coach and Charlotte. Carolina looks like an attractive spot for any incoming coach and their staff. The Panthers were competitive in the NFC South, albeit, one of the league’s worst conferences in 2022. A good set of receivers in DJ Moore and his entourage along with a solid defense could create a advisable first start for Harbaugh. The possibility of a top-10 pick if the team manages to lose in New Orleans in Week 18 also is an enticing offer for a freshman head coach for a team.
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Harbaugh was rumored to be on the market, per The Athletic’s reporting, if an NFL team offered him a head coaching job. Following the aforementioned loss in the Fiesta Bowl, Harbaugh was reportedly contacted by the Denver Broncos who recently exiled head honcho Nathaniel Hackett before he was able to complete a single season as a head coach. Through an underwhelming season, the Broncos are 4-12 mere months after inking superstar quarterback Russell Wilson to a massive deal. While Carolina doesn’t have their quarterback position yet set, look past Wilson’s dismal season, and the quarterback has a star-studded resume that would be hard to pass up. Denver also boasts one of the league’s best defense, allowing a measly 20.2 points per game. Wilson also has a suite of receivers to sling the ball to, including Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, a 2020 1st round pick.
Harbaugh himself has experience with Russell Wilson, Harbaugh coached the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014, leading them to a 44-19-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance in the 2012 season before leaving to take the job at Michigan in 2015. Harbaugh faced Wilson two times per year from 2012 to 2014 and lost the 2013 NFC Championship game to Wilson’s Seahawks. Harbaugh– in his 4 years coaching in the Bay Area, finished 1st in the NFC West twice and 2nd once.
Before coaching the 49ers, he made head coaching stops at the University of San Diego, leading the Torreros to a 29-6 overall record and at Stanford University before landing on the steps of the Big House in Ann Arbor. Rumors have swirled about Harbaugh’s departure well before the Fiesta Bowl fiasco, including 2021’s humiliating loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoffs.
However, at Michigan Harbaugh had arguably the best success he’s had as a coach cumulatively based on record, coaching the Wolverines to a 74-25 tally, including bowl game appearances in every season except 2020’s COVID year.
Harbaugh has lost all but one bowl game, the 2015 Citrus Bowl in his first year as a coach. Possibly one of Harbaugh’s defining moments came in back-to-back years, where he managed to top off detested rivals Ohio State in 2021 and 2022, a huge feat for a school dedicated to hating the red and silver.
