Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan football: Why Wolverines coach is returning to Chargers, NFL
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is reportedly leaving the program to take over as coach of the L.A. Chargers, per multiple reports Tuesday, including USA TODAY Sports.
Harbaugh, fresh off leading one of the best seasons in Wolverines history — they went 15-0 and won their first outright title since 1948 — appears to be calling it a career in Ann Arbor. He will reportedly return to the NFL, which he has flirted with each of the past two offseasons.
Following the 2021 college football season, Harbaugh first had serious talks with the Vikings. After the 2022 season, it was the Broncos. In both instances, Harbaugh stayed with his alma mater. Following his first national championship, Harbaugh will return to coach for the same pro team for which he was a player in 1999 and 2000.
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Here's a look at why Harbaugh is leaving Michigan football for a return to the NFL and the Chargers:
Why is Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan football?
Myriad reasons exist for Harbaugh to leave Michigan, though only he knows the exact answer. One near-certainty is Harbaugh has sought opportunities to return to the NFL the past two offseasons, including ahead of the Wolverines' 2023 CFP national championship season.
Following the 2021 season, which saw him lead the Wolverines to a 12-2 record and CFP semifinal berth, Harbaugh interviewed with the Vikings before ultimately informing athletic director Warde Manuel of his intention to stay. At the time, he said flirtations with the league would not be a recurring issue.
That turned out not to be true, as the next season Harbaugh interviewed with the Broncos for their open head-coaching position. Amid Michigan's run to the College Football Playoff, Harbaugh (twice suspended for three games in 2023) hired NFL-affiliated agent Don Yee to represent him, suggesting a move was imminent back to the NFL.
That came to fruition Wednesday with Harbaugh reportedly taking the Chargers' job. It's uncertain whether the timing of his move is related to his suspensions at Michigan or to ongoing NCAA investigations into Michigan's recruiting during the 2020 COVID-19 dead period or the Wolverines' ongoing sign-stealing scandal.
Harbaugh served a self-imposed three-game suspension by Michigan, ostensibly to lessen whatever punishments the NCAA may hand down in regard to the dead-period recruiting investigation. Michigan has been faced with numerous Level II violations and a Level I violation for Harbaugh's refusal to cooperate with NCAA investigators.
The NCAA has not yet delivered a notice of allegations to Michigan in regard to the sign-stealing scandal, though Harbaugh was suspended for three games to end the regular season by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti for violating the conference's sportsmanship guidelines.
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Jim Harbaugh coaching record at Michigan
Harbaugh had a sterling coaching record at Michigan — and an impressive resume to boast to NFL suitors. In nine seasons in Ann Arbor, he accumulated an 86-25 record for the Wolverines. That includes six seasons double-digit win records and just one losing season (the Wolverines went 2-4 in the COVID-19-affected 2020 season).
On top of his impressive record, Harbaugh won the Big Ten and made the CFP in three consecutive seasons, winning his first national title in 2023.
Jim Harbaugh 49ers record
Of course, Harbaugh's move to the Chargers isn't his first foray into the NFL. He coached in the league for several seasons with the San Franisco 49ers. He coached the NFC West team from 2011-14, averaging 12 wins a season in his first three years before falling to 8-8 in 2014. He finished 44-19-1 with the 49ers.
Harbaugh's best season in the NFL came in 2012, when he led San Francisco to a Super Bowl berth against the Baltimore Ravens, coached by his brother, John Harbaugh.
Did Jim Harbaugh win a Super Bowl?
To date, Jim Harbaugh is 0-1 all time in the Super Bowl. And he has his brother, John Harbaugh, to thank. The Ravens beat Jim harbaugh's 49ers team 34-31 in the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans, costing him his one chance at winning the biggest game in the entirety of the sport.
That was the closest Jim Harbaugh ever got to winning the Super Bowl, as the 49ers lost in the NFC championship game the following season to the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers missed the playoffs completely in 2014 and, the following season, Harbaugh began his nine-year coaching stay at Michigan.
John Harbaugh, for what it's worth, is on the cusp of a second Super Bowl berth. His Ravens are the top overall seed of the NFL playoffs and will host the defending Super Bowl-champion Chiefs in the AFC championship game Sunday with a Super Bowl berth on the line.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Jim Harbaugh is leaving Michigan football for L.A. Chargers, NFL
