Las Vegas releases odds for Jim Harbaugh replacement at Michigan
The Wolverines are not out of the woods yet. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is still in the mix for jobs with the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins, according to the latest reports.
The Michigan leadership has had several weeks of discussions with Harbaugh and likely has candidates in mind should he decide to return to the NFL. The oddsmakers in Las Vegas have their own ideas of who might replace Harbaugh in Ann Arbor.
Check out the top names to take over at Michigan if Jim Harbaugh takes a job in the NFL, courtesy of SportsLine.
Odds for next Michigan head coach
- Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis +300
- Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien +400
- Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell +500
- Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart +700
- Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck +1000
- Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule +1500
The latest on Jim Harbaugh and the NFL
According to a Monday morning report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the possibility of Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan is not dead. In fact, it’s looking more likely, as he reportedly expressed interest in the Minnesota Vikings vacancy.
“Jim Harbaugh conveyed legitimate interest in the Vikings’ head-coaching job during his interview with the team, per source, with Minnesota coming away feeling Harbaugh is ready for a return to the NFL,” Fowler said, via Twitter. “As of now, he’s still considered in the mix for that job.”
The 58-year-old has not coached in the NFL since 2014 when he last served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Since then, Harbaugh has spent the past seven seasons as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.
Harbaugh is coming off his most successful season at Michigan. The Wolverines once ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll and finished No. 3 in the AP Postseason Poll. He helped the Wolverines pull off their first victory over Ohio State since 2011, win the Big Ten Championship and clinch a College Football Playoff berth — the first in program history — while finishing with a 12-2 record. Harbaugh’s spectacular performance resulted in the AP Coach of the Year award. It all came after an offseason full of skepticism, given that he had failed to win a bowl game in five years.
Before his arrival at Michigan, Harbaugh spent four years as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He finished with a 44-19 overall record, never posting worse than a .500 record, and made the playoffs in three of his four seasons at the helm. In 2012, Harbaugh led the 49ers to a Super Bowl berth, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, led by his brother Jim Harbaugh.
On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this report.