Is a Michigan Man Going to Coach the Oakland Raiders?

Many Michigan fans will debate you on whether Jim Harbaugh is a true Michigan man after "throwing the program under the bus" a couple of years ago. He stated "the [Michigan] athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they’re in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They’re adulated when they’re playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won’t hire them." Harbaugh stated that he had wanted to major in history at Michigan, but was told early in his freshman year that he shouldn't major in history because it was too demanding academically. Those comments alone kept the former Michigan QB from being considered for the Michigan opening last winter.

Now the current Cardinal coach is reportedly being considered as the next Oakland Raiders head coach. Harbaugh is currently in his second year of a five-year contract at Stanford, and Stanford Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby isn't wasting anytime by trying to lock  Jim up to a long-term contract.

"Jim and I have talked, and I have visited with his agent," Bowlsby wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. "We will be happy to extend Jim as long as he would like to be extended. No details have been determined, but we would like to keep Jim at Stanford as long as possible."

When asked Tuesday about the Raiders job, Harbaugh, a former assistant in Oakland, said: "I have given no thought to any other job than the one I have. I haven't talked to anybody or anything like that. I hope this doesn't get to be like the quarterback question — like who's your starting quarterback. That would get really repetitive."

Harbaugh changed the subject when asked if he and Raiders owner Al Davis had spoken recently.