Adam Schefter: 'Signs point to' Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan for NFL opportunity

Michigan fans remain on the edge of their seats as they await news regarding head coach Jim Harbaugh staying with the program or moving on to the NFL. But ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter believes that the writing is already on the wall for the Wolverines’ headman to return to the league.

Schefter joined ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter’ on Wednesday to give the latest on Harbaugh’s head coaching future, revealing news that Michigan fans likely won’t want to hear.

“He remains in Los Angeles where he has met with the Chargers over the course of of the past two days,” Shefter said regarding Harbaugh. “The Chargers are obviously interested in Jim Harbaugh, who also is scheduled to meet on Thursday with the Atlanta Falcons, and I think we probably wind up getting a decision one way or another by the end of the week.”

“But the question is where does Jim Harbaugh go? I think the only thing that we can say for now for certain is the signs point to him leaving the University of Michigan for the NFL. We just don’t know where as of right now.”

Harbaugh led Michigan to a national championship victory in the most recent college football season, representing his ninth year as the Wolverines’ head coach after playing quarterback for Michigan during the 80s.

He’s flirted with returning to the NFL on numerous occasions throughout his tenure in Ann Arbor after spending four seasons as the San Francisco 49ers head coach from 2011-2014. Interviewing for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching job following the 2021 college football season.

He returned to Michigan for the 2022 season to bring the program its second straight Big Ten title, but after leading the Wolverines to a third conference championship and a national title in 2023, his tenure with Michigan could be coming to an end.

Harbaugh has become the front-runner for the Los Angeles Chargers job, interviewing with the organization twice as discussions have heated up between the two parties. NFL insider Mike Garafolo reported Monday that the Chargers presented Harbaugh with a ‘strong offer’ and have already conversed about staffing.

But Harbaugh does also have a second interview with the Atlanta Falcons slated for this week, representing the only two franchises that the 60-year-old head coach has interviewed with.

There’s no question that Harbaugh’s name has been discussed far more in NFL spaces compared to Michigan once the confetti stopped falling after the Wolverines’ national championship victory. With his return to the NFL seeming more inevitable than ever before.