John Harbaugh: Family Isn’t Telling Jim Harbaugh To Coach Michigan

By Cory Buck | Dec 24, 2014

December 20, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates after a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers during the second quarter at Levi /

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that his brother, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, has not been influenced by his family to coach the Michigan Wolverines.

As Jim Harbaugh prepares for what will likely be his final game as coach of the San Francisco 49ers, his brother addressed some rumors surrounding his next destination. Specifically, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh took exception to the report that said the Harbaugh family has urged Jim to coach his college alma mater, the Michigan Wolverines.

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“My dad and I both . . . I will say this: The report that said that his family is encouraging him to go to Michigan by Adam Schefter is absolutely incorrect,” John told reporters, per Pro Football Talk.

He continued, “There has been no family that I know of that has given him any advice at all because that’s a personal decision. It’s his to make, and that’s just absolutely false.”

Since rumors persisted in the middle of the NFL season that this would be Jim Harbaugh’s last as the 49ers head coach after three straight conference championship appearances, the University of Michigan has emerged as the frontrunner to hire Harbaugh if the 49ers do part ways with their head coach.

Jim Harbaugh started for three years as the quarterback at Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to a number 2 overall ranking at the end of the 1985 NCAA season. He has preferred to live and coach in California, but Michigan is closer to home and family, which could sway him to return to UM.

Michigan had made a strong offer years prior, when Harbaugh ultimately chose the 49ers as his first NFL head coaching destination, but that apparently hasn’t deterred the university from making another attempt.

Now Jim Harbaugh must decide whether he wants to coach at UM or simply leverage that offer into something better. Just don’t expect this attempt to be aided by anyone else in the Harbaugh family.

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