Jim Harbaugh: Let the Bidding War for the Head Coach Begin

The rumors have been persisting for weeks. Will Rich Rodriguez get fired? Will Jim Harbaugh take over?  Does Jim Harbaugh want to coach in the NFL?

Now that the San Francisco 49ers have fired head coach Mike Singletary, the speculation will be rampant.

UM AD David Brandon said that the university will wait until after the bowl game to assess whether or not they will hire a new head football coach. If Michigan wins their bowl game, it will be hard to fire the current head coach. But some have rumored that Rich Rodriguez is out whether or not he wins the Gator Bowl game. The most rumored person to replace him is Jim Harbaugh. 

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Stanford offered Harbaugh a new contract worth $3 million a year, but Harbaugh has been coy about it, stating that he had not been able to discuss it. Yet a little while back, Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby had said that "Jim has indicated he plans to accept." Sounds like the Stanford head coach and AD are not on the same page. 

Now enter the NFL. San Francisco fired head coach Mike Singletary with one more game remaining in the season.  Usually, head coaches finish out the season and are fired after it (of course there are exceptions like Brad Childress and Wade Phillips). The timing seems unusual.  Harbaugh is already in the Bay Area and it has been speculated that his dream job lies in the NFL, not his alma mater. 

Could the quick firing of Mike Singletary indicate a bidding war is on?  Did David Brandon of Michigan take on this “wait till the end of the bowl season” attitude because Harbaugh was not available for a decision at the time? 

Harbaugh was expecting his fifth child and preparing his team for a BCS Bowl game at the time of the rumors. Does the NFL and 49ers' actions change things at UM?  The story is unfolding before our eyes. Who will Harbaugh chose? Tom Edrington of the Bleacher Report writes:

"Jim Harbaugh should be choice 1-A and 1-B on the San Francisco 49ers' list of candidates to replace Mike Singletary. It's that simple, and it doesn't take Lt. Columbo to figure this one out. After two failed defensive-minded guys, this one would have to be a slam dunk for the Yorks, wouldn't it? They should already be making covert moves toward Palo Alto.

"If you were to load up the old time machine and go back 30 or so years, you'd recall that Denise York's brother, Eddie (DeBartolo), went and found himself this offensive-minded guy at Stanford. That guy's name was Bill Walsh and that hire worked out pretty well for Eddie, didn't it? Walsh was 17-7 his first two seasons at Stanford.

"Harbaugh is 19-6 the past two seasons with a bowl game against Virginia Tech to come. If it made sense to hire Pete Carroll in Seattle, then common sense screams for Harbaugh in 'Frisco. Ask around and insiders will tell you if you had to choose between Carroll and Harbaugh, Harbaugh would be your guy.

"Anyone who thinks he's staying long-term at Stanford is a dreamer. It's no stretch to imagine Jim joining his brother John as an NFL head coach. What San Francisco needs most is someone who can develop a young quarterback, and that's where a guy like Harbaugh would have it all over a guy like Jon Gruden. Gruden hates young quarterbacks and has shown his ability to run at least two NFL franchises into the ground."

In Edrington’s mind, Harbaugh to San Francisco is a no-brainer. Big House Bob of the Bleacher Report also wrote: "NFL insiders Adam Schefter from ESPN and Charlie Casserly from CBS both reported yesterday that sources are linking Harbaugh to Michigan.   I happen to believe Schefter because he is a Michigan alum and won't spread a rumor just to spread it.  I would expect that his sources have to be pretty solid to run with a story about his favorite college football program."  Maybe this is what tipped the hands of the 49'ers to get into the Harbaugh mix.

Regardless of where Harbaugh winds up, it is almost a foregone conclusion that it will not be Stanford long term. Maybe Stanford should start looking.

Note: Harbaugh has accepted the Head Coaching position with the 49'ers.