Jim Harbaugh appears to have scheduled his first interview of the year.Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that Harbaugh “is believed” to meet with the Chargers next week regarding their head coaching vacancy.Pelissero and Ian Rapoport were also informed by those sources that Harbaugh has “indicated to associates” that he may leave the University of Michigan to take a job with the NFL in Los Angeles.
NFL assistants must wait until January 22 for in-person interviews with head coaches, but Harbaugh is eligible to interview immediately. A possible Harbaugh pursuit has been linked to numerous NFL teams with head coaching openings, including the Chargers, Falcons, Raiders, and Commanders. Up until now, though, these have only been rumors, and it appears that the Chargers will have the first shot to wrest Harbaugh away from Michigan.
In a related vein, the school is concerned about Harbaugh’s possible departure. It is revealed by Pelissero and Rapoport that Michigan has attempted to secure a lucrative extension for Harbaugh. The two reporters also mention that the extension would occur “in light of other recent movement within college football,” despite the fact that this offer would come during a period of intense NFL interest. Prior to this, Harbaugh signed a $125 million, ten-year contract that will keep him in Michigan through 2026.
The Chargers were expected to be “pressing hard” to hire Harbaugh, even though they have asked 11 candidates for interviews to replace Brandon Staley. In fact, it was thought that the Chargers had already made preliminary offers to the coach’s camp because the coach had recently hired agent Don Yee.
After firing Tom Telesco, the Chargers now have an opening for a general manager, and there have been rumors that Harbaugh may demand complete personnel control at his next NFL stop. Pelissero and Rapoport do point out that Harbaugh isn’t anticipated to demand that suitors “permit him to appoint his own general manager, given that the architecture [of] NFL buildings has changed and developed since he was last employed by the league.” Even so, there’s a strong likelihood that the Chargers would appoint a general manager who is acquainted with the 60-year-old coach if they decide to go with Harbaugh.
