Stanford, Michigan, Or The NFL: Where Will Red Hot Jim Harbaugh Be In 2011?

Is there a hotter name in football right now than Jim Harbaugh? The only name that rivals it as of now is Stanford QB Andrew Luck. And you really can't mention one without immediately being followed by the other.

Harbaugh, Luck, and the rest of The Stanford Cardinal enjoyed a 40-12 Orange Bowl trouncing of ACC Champion Virginia Tech last night, but before Harbaugh could celebrate Rece Davis of ESPN was asking him the three, four, or maybe even five million dollar question: "Is this your last game as Stanford's head coach?"

During his tenure at Stanford, Harbaugh has built the program into a PAC 10/12 power. Before Jim Harbaugh arrived there, the last winning season the Cardinals had was in 2001 under Tyrone Willingham.

A popular Chinese Proverb says to consider the past and you shall know the future. If that's true, looking back on the last four or five successful collegiate coaches to make that jump to the NFL, Harbaugh's future doesn't look too bright if he does in fact bolt for greener pastures. But as we all know, the grass isn't always greener.

Now, that's not to say Harbaugh wouldn't be successful in the NFL. But let's look at the three pro teams that are reported as having interest in Harbaugh. The San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos, and the Carolina Panthers.

For a head coach to have any semblance of success in the NFL he has to have two things— good ownership and a QB he can build the team around. In San Francisco, I think that the ownership is there, but the QB is nowhere to be found. DeBartolo York has proven that he can run a championship team, just not in the NFL. And the last head coach that left Stanford for the 49ers did pretty damn good, but he had Joe Montana.

The Broncos have the ownership and possibly the QB. I think there is quite a lot Tebow could learn from Harbaugh and he would have an endless supply of support if he does end up in Denver. But he'd still be walking into a franchise left in shambles by former head coach Josh McDaniels.

Last but not least is the Carolina Panthers. After their loss on Sunday to Atlanta, the Panthers secured the number one pick in the upcoming 2011 NFL Draft. That means if redshirt sophomore Andrew Luck does forgo his junior and senior years to enter the draft, he's most likely to be the top overall pick. So if Harbaugh chose to go there he could bring his prized NFL-esque QB with him. And let's not forget that most pro scouts consider Luck to be the best QB prospect to come out of college in the past 25 years.

Now that the NFL's been covered, let's move back to the other interested party—Jim Harbaugh's alma mater, The University of Michigan. It seems that ship has already sailed. According to Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg, Jim Harbaugh will not be leaving for Michigan.

Rosenberg stated earlier today that although Harbaugh loves the idea and still has a great relationship with those at the university he will not leave a program he just built for another college team.

Harbaugh has proven that he is a great college football coach. He's had two really good recruiting classes at Stanford with a top ten, possibly top five, waiting in the wings for 2011. He took a really bad Stanford team to one win away from playing for a National Championship in just three seasons. And with or without Andrew Luck, Stanford will be one of the top two programs in a growing Pac 10, soon to be Pac 12 Conference.

What advice do you think Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, or Bobby Petrino would have for Harbaugh? Doesn't matter. Because their outcome says it, or better yet, it screams it.

Why leave a big time, successful, college program for the NFL. A really good NFL job comes open every three to five years. So, what's the rush?