Jim Harbaugh Is “Done Chasing NFL Jobs” After Vikings Interview
If Jim Harbaugh really wanted to keep it a secret that he wanted out of Michigan, he did a poor job at doing so. Harbaugh recently had interviews for head coaching vacancies in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings. But when he was not offered the job with both the Raiders and Vikings, he decided to return to Michigan. Harbaugh told Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press that he viewed winning Super Bowls as the ultimate accomplishment in the sport of football and always wanted another crack at it after his run with the San Francisco 49ers. But it sounds like Harbaugh might be done pursuing that dream, for now at least.
Full quote via ProFootballTalk via NBCSports.com:
“There was a tugging at me that I was once that close to a Super Bowl and I didn’t get it. Some NFL jobs came open. I was contacted by the Vikings. For better or for worse, it was something I wanted to explore. I went in thinking, ‘I’m gonna have 100 percent conviction on this, and if they [Minnesota] have 100 percent conviction on this, then it’s something I’m gonna do.”
When he had heard that the Minnesota Vikings were not interested in offering him their vacant head coaching position, that is when he decided a return to Michigan was what he was going to do.
“I called Warde [Manuel, the Michigan athletic director] and I asked him if he wanted me to be the head coach. And he said, ‘Yes, 100 percent.’ And I said, OK then. That’s what I want to do.’ And I told him, ‘Warde, this will not be a reoccurring theme every year. This was a one-time thing.”
“Sure, the Super Bowl is the greatest prize in our sport,” he said. “But winning a national championship. That’s pretty darn great. Let’s do that. There was a pull to the NFL because I got that close to the Super Bowl, but this was the time [to try and return.] And this is the last time. Now let’s go chase college football’s greatest prize.”
The fire is still inside coach Jim Harbaugh to go pursue a Super Bowl in the NFL. He made that known this off-season from college football when he took multiple head coaching interviews. Time will tell just how long Harbaugh stays at the University of Michigan before itching to get back into the pro game and coach at the highest level.
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