Jim Harbaugh Reportedly 'Open' to NFL Return Amid Michigan's Struggles

As Michigan tries to get back on track after a disappointing loss to Michigan State last week, the future of head coach Jim Harbaugh could become a talking point once again.

Per Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Harbaugh is "open" to returning to the NFL. 

Harbaugh was often connected to NFL jobs early in his Michigan tenure, though things have cooled off recently. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported in December 2018 that the New York Jets were planning to pursue him, but they wound up going in another direction with Adam Gase. 

Thamel did note this doesn't necessarily mean Harbaugh will leave Michigan, nor is it clear how much interest there might be from NFL teams. 

"I just don't hear his name out there anywhere," one source told Thamel. "I would be surprised if it happens."

One NFL executive told Thamel "it's a legitimate question" if Harbaugh deserves another shot in the league: "He can't quite get it fixed there at Michigan. When you leave a place in the NFL, if you have any scars, they'll get you. And when he left San Francisco, it was scorched earth."

Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers parted ways after the 2014 season. He later said San Francisco's front office made the decision to move on from him. 

"I was told I wouldn't be the coach anymore," Harbaugh told Tim Kawakami (h/t ESPN's Nick Wagoner). "And then ... you can call it 'mutual,' I mean, I wasn't going to put the 49ers in the position to have a coach that they didn't want anymore."

Per ESPN's Seth Wickersham, Harbaugh and then-49ers general manager Trent Baalke "found a way to make clear that the dynamic between them was unsustainable" during their final two seasons together. 

Since taking over as head coach at Michigan in 2015, Harbaugh is 48-19 with three 10-win seasons.