Bruce Feldman believes NCAA could suspend Jim Harbaugh for 'the bulk of the 2024 season'

As Sherrone Moore gets ready to hold Jim Harbaugh’s spot on the Michigan sidelines on Saturday against Ohio State, conversation is starting about what could lie ahead after this season. Harbaugh is wrapping up a suspension from the Big Ten, but he would be back for the conference championship if the Wolverines beat the rival Buckeyes.

The next step, though, is to see what the NCAA decides to do as a result of two investigations into allegations against Michigan. One, of course, is the sign-stealing investigation involving former analyst Connor Stalions. There’s also the other is about recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period, which saw Harbaugh serve a self-imposed three-game suspension this year.

The Athletic and FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman predicted this year’s suspension from the Big Ten might not be the last punishment Harbaugh serves. The next could come in 2024 from the NCAA — and it could be significant. In addition, he pointed out comments Harbaugh made over the summer about the amount of NFL talent on this year’s roster.

If that prediction comes true, Feldman wondered what it could mean for Harbaugh and Michigan next year.

“You also have this other piece of it, which is when I talked to him over the summer, he told me he thinks they were going to break Georgia’s players for most players drafted in [an] NFL Draft,” Feldman said Friday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “In, whatever, six months from now, he thinks they’re going to have like 20 players drafted. You lose 20 players off Michigan, you are going to be probably looking at a sizable rebuild next year.

“So you have that, you also have the part of from the people I’ve talked to who are close to Harbaugh think he could get suspended for the bulk of the 2024 season once the NCAA gets around to this if he’s still there. … This is no longer in the Big Ten’s purview. This is going to be when the NCAA handles it and whenever that gets around to that.”

It’s also worth noting the NCAA released an unprecedented statement amid the investigation over the summer, and Feldman said that was an indication things might not get easier for Harbaugh and Michigan.

“But the NCAA was not happy with how a lot of this stuff played out,” Feldman said. “Remember, the NCAA kind of shot back in a way that they almost never do at Michigan over Michigan’s, what they felt like Michigan’s spinning maybe to their media side of it about trying to downplay about what Jim Harbaugh was getting accused of. And so you had all that.”

Bruce Feldman evaluates the chances Jim Harbaugh is Michigan’s coach in 2024

The next part of the conversation about Harbaugh’s future is if he wants to go back to the NFL. Over the last two offseasons, he had conversations with both the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos about their respective openings.

Two years ago, his name surfaced in connection with the Vikings head coach job that ultimately went to Kevin O’Connell. Last offseason, the Broncos were reportedly interested before Harbaugh again decided to stay in Ann Arbor. The franchise ended up bringing in Sean Payton.

With so much swirling around the Wolverines, Feldman wondered if this would be the time for Harbaugh to return to the league. After all, he did pretty well when he was the San Francisco 49ers head coach from 2011-14. In addition, FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer reported NFL teams aren’t concerned about the ongoing investigation at Michigan, which could bode well for Harbaugh’s chances to return to the league.

“I think the other element is Jim Harbaugh’s dance with the NFL the previous two winters. … Ultimately, I’m told that he came back thinking, ‘I really wanted to coach this team,'” Feldman said. “He had great leadership and wanted to stay, and he did. But all those kids who came back, they’re going to be going on to the NFL. … And remember, this is not like my colleague Urban Meyer, who hadn’t coached in the NFL. This is a guy who went like 44-19 and coached in a Super Bowl.

“Jim Harbaugh has a really strong record as an NFL head coach. Most college guys don’t or didn’t. So the idea that — he might be able to get a job and move on, and if he does, then I think if you’re Michigan, you have to think, ‘OK, they’ll probably not come down on us as hard if Jim Harbaugh’s the head coach because then, who are you punishing?’ I think that’s why — I would be surprised if Jim Harbaugh’s the head coach at Michigan next year based on all of that.”