NFL insider: Jim Harbaugh expected to interview with Denver Broncos

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•01/08/23•

BarkleyTruax

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will interview for the Denver Broncos head coaching vacancy this coming week, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport report. The meeting will be virtual, and Denver is expected to interview, “several other candidates,” the same way.

The Broncos fired former head coach Nathaniel Hackett after 15 games. High expectations turned into a double-digit loss season in the blink of an eye, and the unbearably incapable offense spelled disaster from the start. Harbaugh, among the other candidates, will look to right Hackett’s wrongs and prove why the Broncos were expected to be in the playoff mix before the season.

Harbaugh just led the Wolverines to a 13-1 season and a second-straight College Football Playoff berth. Despite taking the interview, the Michigan coach said in a statement earlier this week saying that he expects to be back in Ann Arbor for the 2023 season.

“As I stated in December, while no one knows what the future holds, I expect that I will be enthusiastically coaching Michigan in 2023,” he wrote Thursday. Now, that statement is in jeopardy.

He took a peek back into the NFL coaching world last season when he interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings job but ultimately decided to stay in the collegiate ranks. When Hackett was let go, Harbaugh was one of the first names to enter the hat and now it seems there’s enough interest on both sides to meet for an interview.

Of course, Harbaugh’s previous stop before heading to Michigan saw him leading the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl against his brother, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. He had the credentials and noteriety – and would be a perfect candidate for the ailing Broncos.

Relatedly, the Broncos also received permission to interview former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton for the job. Despite no longer serving as head coach, Payton remains under contract with the Saints and would need to be acquired in a trade. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is also a target.