Could Colin Kaepernick join Jim Harbaugh with the Vikings?

Update: Jim Harbaugh opted to stay at Michigan, thus making Kaepernick’s journey back to the NFL even tougher.

With Jim Harbaugh likely headed back to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, we take a look back at his previous NFL tenure. Could he bring back an old friend?

When Harbaugh made the jump from Stanford to the San Francisco 49ers, he had high expectations and big shoes to fill. For the most part, the former NFL QB delivered in his first and only chance at professional football aspirations (as a coach), as Harbaugh’s Niners had a 59-36-1 record.

Harbaugh even won Coach of the Year honors in 2011 and clinched a Super Bowl berth in Super Bowl XLVII.

Those accolades make him an attractive commodity for Minnesota.

Jim Harbaugh NFL coaching record

Harbaugh went 59-36-1 with the 49ers before parting ways after his sixth season.

Could Colin Kaepernick follow Jim Harbaugh?

To say Kaepernick has been blackballed from the NFL would be an understatement. The former 49ers quarterback hasn’t played professionally in quite some time, and despite interest at various times, has yet to sign on to play in the league he once dominated.

Kaepernick claims to still have a desire to play. In a November interview with Ebony Magazine, Kaepernick said he trains five to six days a week, just waiting for a realistic opportinity.

Considering Kaep saw his greatest success with Harbaugh, another former quarterback, as his head coach, could a reunion be in the works?

In all likelihood, the answer to that question is a maybe at best. Kaepernick is 34, and at this point has lost some of the speed and playmaking ability that made him such an NFL force to begin with. But if he were willing to accept a secondary role or perhaps even coach sometime down the road, Harbaugh would be the first to give him a call.

If Kaepernick is still training to be NFL-ready at the drop of a dime, he could at the very least receive an opportunity with Harbaugh’s Vikings. At the end of the day, that’s all he ever wanted.