Tim Tebow Riding Pine? Jim Harbaugh to Broncos, Cardinals, Wolverines or 49ers?

What should Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Stanford Cardinal, do now?

He has some awfully intriguing options. Jim has an extension offer from the Cardinal to stay in Palo Alto and lead the Cardinal to another great Pac-10 season. There has also been talk that he could go to his alma mater, Michigan, to coach the Wolverines back to their winning ways.

As intriguing as those college head coaching jobs are to Harbaugh, he has to weigh them against two head coaching jobs in the NFL that are knocking on his door.

Just down the street from Stanford lives the San Francisco 49ers franchise. They recently got rid of Mike Singletary and are looking for a replacement. But the most intriguing offer might be from the Denver Broncos.

Let’s examine these options more closely.

Stanford Cardinal

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MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 03: (L-R) Andrew Luck #12 and Owen Marecic #48 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrate after Marecic scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter against the Virginai Tech Hokies during the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life S

If Harbaugh stays at the home of the Cardinal, then chances are Andrew Luck, his sophomore quarterback, will stay as well. They were very close to playing for the national championship this year and with Luck returning behind center, Harbaugh will have another good shot at the coveted college hardware.

Plus he knows the system and has recruited the players and built that program from 1-11 four years ago to 12-1 this year. The only thing keeping Harbaugh from playing Auburn in Arizona right now was a loss to Oregon in which his Cardinal gave Oregon the game after a 21-3 Stanford lead. Staying as Stanford’s head coach appears to be very appealing.

Michigan Wolverines

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JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Denard Robinson #16 of the Michigan Wolverines rushes against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the Gator Bowl at EverBank Field on January 1, 2011 in Jacksonville, Florida (Photo by Rick Dole/Getty Images)

Stanford is a great squad for sure, but Michigan is football. There are a few schools in Division-I college football at which the head coaching job is just plain coveted. Michigan is one of those schools.

Plus it is Harbaugh’s alma mater. The chance to coach the school you attended would be a dream for anyone. Ask Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech. And much like he did at Stanford, Harbaugh would have a chance to take a team from a floundering position to greatness once again.

Michigan would certainly be a dream job for Jim.

San Francisco 49ers

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 02: Alex Smith #11 of the San Francisco 49ers passes against the Arizona Cardinals during an NFL game at Candlestick Park on January 2, 2011 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

I am not so sure this offer has everything behind it that the others do. Yes, it is an NFL job. Yes, he gets to stay in Northern California. And yes, he has some real talent on that 49ers team which would provide a decent foundation on which to rebuild a once-storied program. But it’s not his best choice.

It’s not even his second best choice.

Denver Broncos

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DENVER - JANUARY 02: Quarterback Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos looks to deliver a pass against the San Diego Chargers at INVESCO Field at Mile High on January 2, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

This option is very, very interesting. John Elway holds a newly-appointed position with his old NFL team, the Denver Broncos. Elway is a Stanford graduate and, as luck would have it, was also on the sideline at the Orange Bowl as a Cardinal alum captain.

Do you think Elway had Harbaugh’s ear at the end of that game? The connections here are difficult to ignore.

In addition, Denver has the second pick in next year's draft. Why would this matter? Some project that if Jim Harbaugh goes to Denver, then Andrew Luck will turn pro after this season and Jim Harbaugh will select him with the second pick in the draft.

They may be a package deal. What makes this even more interesting is that Denver just selected Tim Tebow as their franchise quarterback in the first round of last year's draft and he did not disappoint in his last few starts for the Broncos.

So what happens there?

I rank his options like this:

1. Michigan
2. Denver
3. San Francisco
4. Stanford

Either way, I think he is leaving Stanford this year, which means that Andrew Luck will be leaving as well. That means that the Cardinal will most likely regress to a middle of the pack Pac-10 team again.

What do you think Jim Harbaugh will do?

What would you do?

Let me know with your comments.