Adam Schefter: Jim Harbaugh met with Denver Broncos owner, no deal materialized

Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner flew to Ann Arbor, Michigan and met with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to discuss the Broncos open head coaching position, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. No deal resulted from the meeting.

The Broncos appeared to be the most likely destination for Harbaugh were he to leave Michigan, but it seemed in mid-January that he was out of the running. Harbaugh and University of Michigan president Santa J Ono announced then that Harbaugh would return to Michigan for the 2023 season.

But since then, Harbaugh continued his dance with the NFL — a dance that will, at this point, seemingly go on until he gets another NFL gig or retires from coaching.

The NFL might have something to say about that, though. Harbaugh has now, in back-to-back years, gotten interest from NFL teams only to not get the job. (He interviewed with the Vikings on National Signing Day in 2022.) As interested as Harbaugh is in an NFL return, the NFL’s interest in him as a head coach may be waning, Schefter noted.

According to Schefter, Penner has been traveling the country and having a number of follow-up meetings with potential candidates who interviewed over Zoom or a phone call. The rules for approaching other coaches and conducting interviews opened up for NFL teams on Jan. 17.

Denver has apparently moved on from Harbaugh after the meeting, reporting that they’ve interviewed a bevy of other candidates: former Saints head coach Sean Payton, former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, former Stanford head coach David Shaw, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and the current Broncos DC, Ejiro Evero.

So it seems that like last year, Harbaugh was a very serious consideration for an NFL team but when it came to making an offer, it didn’t come — and maybe isn’t going to.