PFT: Colin Kaepernick Wasn't a Factor in Jim Harbaugh Not Getting Vikings HC Job

Colin Kaepernick served as the honorary captain for Michigan's spring game over the weekend, linking up with his former head coach on the San Francisco 49ers, Jim Harbaugh. 

But Harbaugh, who interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings job this offseason before returning to the Wolverines, reportedly didn't "propose Kaepernick as a quarterback on the roster when meeting with the Vikings," per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

And according to that report, "the Kaepernick angle did not cause the Vikings to go in a different direction. Putting it another way, Harbaugh isn't the coach of the Vikings for reasons completely unrelated to his views on Kaepernick."

Alongside being the honorary captain, Kaepernick also threw to draft-eligible Wolverines during halftime of the spring game, serving as a showcase for NFL scouts. 

Kaepernick said he was just hoping to get another chance to play football:

Kaepernick, 34, last played in the NFL in 2016, when he became a national story for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before NFL games to protest police brutality and racism. 

He went unsigned the following offseason and ever since, even suing the NFL alongside teammate Eric Reid for colluding to keep him out of the league. That lawsuit was settled out of court in 2019.  

During his NFL career, Kaepernick played under Harbaugh between the 2011-14 seasons. Harbaugh then departed for Michigan, where he's served as the head coach since. 

But Harbaugh flirted with the Vikings this offseason, interviewing with the team before Minnesota ultimately hired former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell. The Vikings reportedly never made Harbaugh an offer despite meeting with him for nine hours in February, per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.