Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh on NFL buzz: 'It's a little more enjoyable this year compared to the rumors last year'
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh has been rumored to be a candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job and other openings in the NFL, with the season having just come to a close.
A finalist for the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award after leading Michigan to the Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff, Harbaugh is in Houston for the award ceremony along with other college coaches up for the honor.
Harbaugh was asked about the rumors linking him to the pros, to which he responded with a quip, seemingly making light of the fact that he was rumored to be on the hot seat at this time a year ago following Michigan’s 2-4 2020 campaign.
“It’s a little more enjoyable this year compared to the rumors last year,” Harbaugh said with a smirk.
Harbaugh is under contract at Michigan through 2025 but is expected to sign a renegotiated deal that would include a pay raise if he does remain in Ann Arbor. Despite no new deal announced and ongoing NFL rumors, it’s business as usual for Harbaugh and the Wolverines. They’re set to host recruiting visitors over the weekend, including a defensive tackle out of the transfer portal, before he and the staff travel the country to make visits at high schools.
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In the meantime, Harbaugh is enjoying his time in Houston. And by all accounts, he’s planning on recruiting for Michigan in the weeks to come in preparation for future seasons.
“Got the whole family down here — wife Sarah and son Jack and John and [daughters] Katie and Addie,” he said on Sports 610 Radio in Houston. “We’re all down here. We’re here today, and maybe going to find some fun stuff to do with the family tomorrow.
“Just got to enjoy these days with the family, because we hit the road recruiting in the next couple days, so kinda the last time to spend with the family — and I couldn’t think of a better place I’d rather be than at the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award.”
Harbaugh is one of eight finalists for the award, joining Baylor’s Dave Aranda, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson, Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin, Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham. He feels fortunate to even be in consideration.
“That’s huge,” he said of being up for the honor. “Big fan — was old enough to have watched Bear Bryant coached and read the books, watch the movies. A lot of the things that he’s said just rings so true when you’re a head football coach or a player or an assistant coach. Just so good, so good.
“An award that has Bear Bryant on it … there are awards at Michigan that have Bo Schembechler’s name on it, and to be even considered is a great thrill. I won the Woody Hayes Coach of the Year one year in 2010. There’s just something about that when you talk about an award that has an icon in the game of football that they’re awarded after. As I said, just being a finalist, that’s awesome.”
Harbaugh was already named the Associated Press Coach of the Year in January.
