NFL rumors: Jim Harbaugh suitor left blowing in the wind with latest update

Now that he brought his beloved alma mater a College Football Playoff National Championship, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is free to do pretty much whatever he wants. Harbaugh just turned 60 and has long had aspirations for an NFL return. He had been back in Ann Arbor ever since leaving the San Francisco 49ers after a tumultuous 2024 season. A return to the league looms large.

According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the Atlanta Falcons will not be conducting a second interview with Harbaugh on Thursday. He spent Wednesday meeting with one of the former teams he played quarterback for, the Los Angeles Chargers. These are the two teams besides Michigan who have had the most interest in possibly hiring Harbaugh in this cycle. So what is it going to be then?

Harbaugh would be a home-run hire for both the Dirty Birds or the Bolts. Atlanta owner Arthur Blank will give him all the resources he could ever want. Of course, the Falcons job comes with a pair of handcuffs. Terry Fontenot will remain as the team's talented general manager, while Rich McKay will keep collecting checks doing whatever he does for the Falcons, as he rapidly approaches retirement.

Atlanta did conduct a pair of interviews in Wednesday, as they met with former Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who they are expected to meet with on Wednesday evening.

Kendall did specify two things after his initial tweet concerning Harbaugh. The first is that he is not indicating that Harbaugh's second interview with the Falcons was not canceled, but probably rather rescheduled. His second big thought is that Vrabel will be conducting his first interview, in-person.

And with Evero having had his second interview with the franchise earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Falcons have sufficiently satisfied the Rooney Rule. Because Atlanta has officially complied with the Rooney Rule, the Falcons are now free to hire whichever head-coaching candidate they want to.

Atlanta has already completed a few second interviews, including ones with former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who spent the bulk of the 2020 NFL season as the Falcons' interim head coach after Dan Quinn and former general manager Thomas Dimitroff were ousted. They are also not done interviewing just yet..

Atlanta Falcons could be blowing their chance to hire Jim Harbaugh

All things equal, Harbaugh should be the next head coach of the Chargers. He used to play for them, he has an affinity for their starting quarterback Justin Herbert and he spent part of his childhood growing up in California because of his father Jack's collegiate coaching career. Harbaugh has no ties to Atlanta or Georgia, outside of his brother-in-law Tom Crean being a terrible head coach at UGA...

To me, I think Harbaugh is still very much on the Falcons' radar. Again, they seem to be doing their most thorough head-coaching search to date, to finally get it right for once. It is fascinating how many head-coaching candidates are interest in this position. The organization's reputation has taken a bit of a hit, but people still like Blank, respect Fontenot and more importantly, love this talent-rich roster.

Outside of Harbaugh getting a second interview, I think other candidates such as Vrabel, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik are going to get second interviews. The latter three for sure, and especially the Detroit duo. Atlanta is sending people up to Detroit to speak with them.

Ultimately, I think the Chargers and Falcons hold the cards when it comes to the next vacancy to be filled. The Panthers will probably get whatever is left. The Washington Commanders are a total wild card at this point. As for the Seattle Seahawks, they seem to be taking their sweet time. Right now, I would be shocked if Harbaugh is not bringing Jesse Minter with him to either Atlanta or Los Angeles.

The only candidate Atlanta really liked it did not get a second interview with was Brian Callahan.