Report: Panthers owner David Tepper talked with Jim Harbaugh about head coaching vacancy

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper talked with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh about the team’s head coaching vacancy, according to Will Kunkel of FOX Charlotte. The reported discussion was not a job interview, but only a conversation, according to Kunkel.

Reports surfaced following the Fiesta Bowl loss Harbaugh would head back to the NFL if offered a job. The Denver Broncos were reportedly interested in the two-time Big Ten champion coach.

The Panthers fired Matt Rhule earlier this season, who subsequently was hired by Nebraska following the conclusion of the college football regular season.

Harbaugh signed a five-year, $36.7 million extension with the school in February 2022 following the team’s first Big Ten title and College Football Playoff appearance under his watch.

Last year, Harbaugh interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings but the two sides could not come to an agreement and mutually decided it was better for the coach to return to Ann Arbor and the Vikings ultimately landed on Kevin O’Connell last year.

Harbaugh was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14. In those four seasons, Harbaugh went 44-19-1 and made the playoffs three times. In his second season with the 49ers, Harbaugh took them to the Super Bowl where they would come up just shy of the win against the Baltimore Ravens.

Now through eight seasons at Michigan, Harbaugh is 74-25 with two Big Ten titles and two playoff appearances, but is 1-6 in bowl games.