By Jordan Long
The Minnesota Vikings are still searching for a New Head Coach. Their job has been opened since they fired Mike Zimmer on January 10th. Zimmer was the Head Coach of the Vikings the past 8 years. One coach they are going to talk to is Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh is currently the Head Coach of the University of Michigan. He has been there since 2015. Under him, the Wolverines are 61-24, a winning percentage of .718. 5 of those years, Michigan ended up in a Bowl game. This past season, the University of Michigan went 12-1 beating the University of Iowa in the Big 10 Championship Game which earned them a spot in the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, they were beaten by the University of Georgia 34-12 in the semi-final. Georgia would go on to beat the University of Alabama in the National Championship Game.
Just looking at that, why would Harbaugh want to leave the college game? He has recruited very well at the University of Michigan. The results have been there, only one season where Harbaugh had a losing record, 2020 which was the COVID shortened year when they went 2-4. Harbaugh has turned them into a powerhouse in the BIG 10.
Harbaugh is just talking to Minnesota. There is no guarantee he will even land the job. Harbaugh has been a Head Coach in the NFL before, 2011 to 2014 for the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers let him go after an 8-8 season in 2014. In San Francisco, his overall record was 44-19 with 1 tie, a winning percentage of .695. San Francisco earned a playoff spot 3 times and advanced to Super Bowl 47 but fell to the Baltimore Ravens 34-31.
Harbaugh might have a decision to make if the Vikings offer the Head Coaching job to him. In the NFL, he will not be able to pick his players in free agency or the NFL Draft to improve the Vikings. Their General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will have the final say. His job would be to coach the team. The Vikings have players on offense Harbaugh can work with including wide receivers Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson as well as running back Dalvin Cook. These players can make plays and help the Vikings win games. They still need to build a defense to be successful and Harbaugh would need to hire a staff to do so.
Harbaugh is better off staying at the University of Michigan. He can pick his team, recruiting to earn a College Football Playoff berth with the hopes of winning multiple National Championship titles. Harbaugh is able to maintain discipline on and off the field. If players break team rules he could reduce their playing time or not allow them to suit up at all. In the NFL he wouldn’t have that much power.
Harbaugh is just talking to Minnesota about their opening. It doesn’t mean he will earn the job. This is just a step to see how interested Minnesota is in him. Once that is completed, Minnesota needs to figure out the next steps and if they want to interview him again. For right now, Harbaugh’s future is in limbo.
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