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5 NFL teams for which Jim Harbaugh would leave Michigan

By Brad Berreman

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: Michigan Wolverines Head Coach Jim Harbaugh reacts to his team failing to score on 4th down during the fourth quarter of the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 19, 2019, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA, (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: Michigan Wolverines Head Coach Jim Harbaugh reacts to his team failing to score on 4th down during the fourth quarter of the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 19, 2019, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA, (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Jim Harbaugh
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – OCTOBER 19: Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh leads the team off the field after warm ups before the Michigan Wolverines vs. the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

If Jim Harbaugh is eyeing a way to leave Michigan to go back to the NFL, these five teams may be on his radar.

Four-and-a-half seasons in, it’s safe to safe to say Jim Harbaugh’s head coaching tenure at Michigan is not going as well as hoped. A loss to Penn State last Saturday dropped the Wolverines to 5-2 on the season, with Notre Dame coming to the Big House this coming Saturday.

The Wolverines are all but sure to fall short of a Big Ten title this year, and even getting to nine wins might be a tough bargain with Maryland, Michigan State and Indiana between the Notre Dame game and the regular-season finale against Ohio State. Let’s mark three more wins, and an 8-4 mark heading into a bowl game.

Harbaugh is in no real danger of being fired by Michigan, and if he leaves anytime soon it’ll be on his own motivation. According to Football Scoop, Harbaugh’s representatives are trying to get their client back in the NFL. Harbaugh denied the report he’s pursuing an exit strategy in a letter he sent to parents of players and recruits.

Harbaugh, of course, coached in the NFL previously, with a 44-19-1 record over four seasons (2011-2014) with the San Francisco 49ers. In each of his first three seasons, the 49ers reached the NFC Championship Game, with one Super Bowl appearance.

The specter of a return to the NFL has occasionally lingered over Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor. If he wants to make a clean break from his alma mater after the season, under the idea he’d be leaving the program in better shape then he found it, it could save both sides a lot of anguish.

If Harbaugh really has his eye on a return to the NFL, these five teams could be on his radar.

5. Washington Redskins

The Redskins are mostly on this list because they will have a job opening after the season. Jay Gruden has of course already been fired in-season, and interim head coach Bill Callahan can’t be a serious candidate to take the job permanently.

Owner Daniel Snyder, for all his obvious flaws, will presumably be willing to pony up for a new head coach. The question for Washington will be what candidates with options will even consider taking their job, and Harbaugh will be among those with some options if it’s seriously out there he wants an NFL job.

But if Snyder does the right thing after the season and fires team president Bruce Allen, also known as his public pincushion, a new leader of the football operation could be someone who can better sell Harbaugh on the merits of the Redskins’ job, starting with a young quarterback in Dwayne Haskins. If Harbaugh wants some say in personnel matters, perhaps Snyder would fire Allen to give it to him alongside an executive of his choosing.

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