Schefter: Harbaugh to NCAA Unlikely

Obviously Harbaugh is my #1 choice but I am not optimistic about it, and I hope other people can start getting prepared for disappointment. Having people already pissed off at the new coach because he isn't Harbaugh will obviously not be helpful.

Eh, the article from Schefter doesn't, by any means, imply that Harbaugh's a lock to stay in NFL. It just says that the 49ers might look to trade him and that other teams, specifically the Raiders and Jets, would be very interested in hiring him.

If Harbaugh is not coming, I wish he'd release a statement saying that he is not a candidate for the Michigan job, in no uncertain terms.

Of course we'll just ignore it and declare that it's all just a smoke screen and that it really means he's coming here.  We're Lloyd Christmas like that.

I don't understand why everyone is responding so quickly to a verbal report on a radio show, assuming this is better information than the plethora of articles that have come out over the past six weeks regarding Harbaugh getting traded. 

One of four things is going to happen:

1. Harbaugh is fired by 49ers. He goes wherever he pleases
2. He comes to Michigan.
3. The 49ers extend his contract and keep him for years to come
4. He is traded with an extended contract and that new team keeps him for years to come.

At the moment, I have not seen one piece of credible evidence that tells me that we know which of those four options is going to happen. The only one that seems a low probability event is number one, given the opportunity cost for the 49ers to do so.

Until I see a report that cites something besides gut instinct, or what other NFL GM's want, I'm going to remain agnostic to whether we have a shot of landing him.

Basically we are Oklahoma who just went through Gary Gibbs and John Blake.

We need to find a Bob Stoops who was a DC before he was hired.

A smart younger assistant with a good attitude that had experience under a good coach.

Harbaugh and Miles are pipe dreams.

Have a happy life, Schefter!

Until I hear a credible reporter say "sources close to Harbaugh tell me that..." then it is all just guessing. 

Did Shefter say he that sources close to Harbaugh gave him specific information?

If not, then we are in the same spot as before--no one in the the media has any idea one way or the other what Jim Harbaugh wants.  

It seems to me that Harbaugh and those close to him (father, agent, etc.) have every incentive to NOT reveal Harbaugh's preferences at this time. 

Enemies might have the oppositie incentive.  But what useful insight could they possibly have into Harbaugh's mind?  None.

 

Reporter (or random internet dude) says:

Harbaugh to Michigan = credible, awesome.
Harbaugh not to Michigan = idiot, no connections, hater.

Okay if not Jim, I'll take John in a heartbeat.  It will be a Harbaugh!

I am not going to drop the John Harbaugh to Michigan thought, under the radar happening. It also looks like his timing may work out after his loss yesterday.

I may get down voted, but if I had my choice I may select John over Jim. 

1. He got his ring, won't be looking back at the NFL.

2. The transition may be smoother with recruits and current players, etc. by possibly keeping Mattison.

3. His demeanor may work better in the long term.

4. He is a competitor, driven and will really want to win the college championship.

Either way -- Either Harbaugh will make for plenty of popcorn time.

Jim Harbaugh will won't be coaching college football while his brother and Pete Carroll have Super Bowl rings and he doesn't.

This is the same guy who reported that he was coming here in 2011. So, he's been wrong on this front before.

doesn't make sense on a lot of levels.

But something else that makes no sense is him accepting a trade to a team like Oakland or the Jets, as Schefter reports.  If the goal is to win a Super Bowl, he's just as likely to do that at Michigan as he is in Oakland or with the Jets.

I could maybe (MAYBE) see signing with the GIants, but they seem pretty far from serious contention as well.  If he just wants to stay in the NFL I get it, but if he wants to win a championship, none of the seemingly available jobs this year offer him that.

There are a lot of assumptions but at this point nfl>college.. so it seems like ~80% of media thinks JH will be staying in nfl and if Jets offer him a GM/Coach position he will most likely go there...
Sooo i think its time to search somewhere else. This school has the money and if i was the AD i would start at very top and call every single agent/coach and throw offers at them

so you're saying there's a chance!

O.K. -- Now that at least some of us are in reality-mode.  Try this on for size:  Hoke has not been fired yet and that is significant.  If we knew what we were going to do, he would be gone.  We are still deciding and there is a very real possibility that the school ultimately decides to retain him.  Let's have a coaching vacancy first before we start talking about a coaching search.  

He is my number 1 choice by far, but I don't think he's coming.

It has always been incredibly unlikely that Harbaugh take the Michigan job. Coaches who are succcessful in the NFL do not leave the NFL in the prime of their career. If they fall out with their current team, they just get another job because, ya know, they're successful. The idea that no other NFL team would step up and make a big financial/power committment to a guy who turned SF around and took them to a Super Bowl has always been foolish. Jeff Fisher had a bidding war over his services after 5+ years of mediocrity because he had a SB appearance on his resume. That's just the way it works.

The only thing in Michigan's favor in all this is Harbaugh being sentimental about his alma mater. It's sentiment versus cash/power/prestige. Don't let this crush your spirit or take away your optimism for Michigan's future. There's still quality coaches out there who provide an upgrade over the current coaching staff. Michigan is not tarnished because it couldn't pull off something that literally no college program has ever managed to do before.

On to John Harbaugh??

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccck!

If someone's going to offer him a GM/Coach position in the NFL with a minimum 4-5 year commitment, he'll take it, and he should. The only chance we have is if the offers are just coaching gigs where he is stuck, in Bill Parcell's words, making dinner without picking out the ingredients. Other than sentiment, which several have mentioned, the only other advantage college offers is the ability to put together your own team (of course, given the time and energy commitment, for some that's a disadvantage); if the NFL can offer him that as well, it would be awfully tough to see him saying no. Someone mentioned the Giants being a better gig than the Jets or Oakland. That's debatable (and I'm a Giants fan), but if the GM position is involved it's a moot point. The ability to shape a team to his liking makes any job palatable (indeed, the challenge in that case may almost become a draw for his ego).

Where's Brian on all this? He has been eerily quiet since before the game.