Tracking Harbaugh: Separating fact from fantasy

Coach Jim Harbaugh, who led the Michigan Wolverines to a national championship Monday night, is already working on next season — with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, according to a report by Kyle Brandt of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

As the great Lee Corso might say, "Not so fast, my friend."

Lack of corroboration or even follow up on his own network may signal that either Brandt was still groggy from his late night flight or he was shooting for his little version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, a fictitious radio broadcast in 1938, which faked a Martian attack in a production that was so real that panic spread across the country. 

With a straight face and his usual uber enthusiasm, Brandt reported in the 4 a.m. hour (PT) segment of GMF that he saw Harbaugh on SoFi field in Los Angeles doing “quarterback drills” at 3:15 a.m. That would be approximately six hours after Michigan walloped Washington, 34-14, for the national championship in Houston.

“I get in this morning, it’s about 3:15 a.m. and I go to peek in at SoFi, just to look at the stadium," Brandt said. “I’m not making this up, 3:15 in the morning and Jim Harbaugh is already here doing quarterback drills with Justin Herbert."

Brandt joined the New York GMF crew on a split screen from Los Angeles.

“They are out there, he’s already here,” Brandt said in a breathless presentation. “It’s happening right in front of me. I don’t know how he (Harbaugh) got here that quickly but he is here and already working out with Herbert. So it’s exciting for Chargers fans.”

Thanks Orson, er Kyle. 

We could find no corroboration of that report and efforts to reach Brandt, apparently on vacation in Southern California, were not successful.

Harbaugh is an intense person and it is somewhat easy to believe he would go to great lengths to pursue his goal. However, Herbert has been on injured reserve since early December with a broken index finger, and it seems unlikely he would be chucking the ball around with Harbaugh, especially at 3:15 a.m.

So, until Brandt checks in again, let's get back to what we do know.

Harbaugh’s name has been attached to several NFL teams seeking a new coach, including the Chargers, Raiders and Patriots. 

See story on NFL coach movement.

Meanwhile, Michigan's $125 million proposed contract extension would make Harbaugh the highest-paid coach in college football, but it contains a clause precluding him from pursuing an NFL job for the 2024 season, according to NFL Network.

While the clause limiting NFL interest would only last one season, it is apparently enough to prevent the two sides from reaching an agreement.

The Wolverines' contract proposal is for 10 years and $125 million, which would eclipse Dabo Swinney's $115 million contract for the biggest in college football history. Alabama coach Nick Saban cleared $11.4 million to become the highest-paid coach in college football in 2023.

Michigan reportedly has also offered a shorter-term $11 million contract.

Harbaugh has transformed Michigan into a national power during a nine-year tenure at his alma mater. The Wolverines went eight years without a top-10 finish before he took over as coach.

Harbaugh has pursued NFL coaching jobs consistently since he took over the Wolverines, and noise has reached a fever pitch during UM's rise to national prominence. After the 2021 season, Harbaugh heavily pursued a position with the Minnesota Vikings. After Minnesota hired Kevin O'Connell, Harbaugh claimed to the Detroit Free Press that this would be the last time he pursued an NFL position.

One year later, Harbaugh went on to meet with the Denver Broncos to discuss their vacancy. Sean Payton was ultimately hired as Denver coach. If Harbaugh does not sign the contract, he could be a candidate for open jobs in 2024.

Complicating matters, Harbaugh has had a difficult year off the field at Michigan. He was suspended twice — once self-imposed, once by the Big Ten — for separate incidents of rule-breaking, and coached only six regular season games. Michigan received a notice of allegations this week regarding illegal coaching and recruiting practices during the COVID-19 dead period. The NCAA is also investigating Michigan and former analyst Connor Stalions over allegations of illegal in-person recruiting and sign-stealing.