All signs suggest Harbaugh to be Michigan coach by Tuesday
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Unless negotiations fall apart, all signs indicate that Jim Harbaugh will be the next football coach at Michigan on Monday or Tuesday.
A deal between Harbaugh and Michigan had not been signed before the San Francisco 49ers' final game Sunday afternoon, but that wasn't stopping Michigan staffers.
They have begun getting together events to introduce Harbaugh on Tuesday, including a news conference and an appearance at an afternoon basketball game, a person within the university with knowledge of the plans told the Free Press on Sunday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because U-M officials aren't authorized to speak publicly about the coaching search. The hope is that Harbaugh will fly to Ann Arbor sometime Monday.
Asked after the game whether he would be the next Michigan coach, Harbaugh responded by evading the question but did not deny the possibility. "There will be announcements made," he said, "concerning those things."
And within minutes, an announcement was made by the 49ers: The team and its coach "have mutually agreed to part ways." In a statement, the 49ers said that they had begun a search for new coach and that Harbaugh was free to pursue his next coaching opportunity "without any constraints."
All this adds to the mounting viewpoint that Harbaugh, an All-America quarterback at U-M in the 1980s and the coach of the San Francisco 49ers the past four seasons, will strike a deal with interim athletic director Jim Hackett and will return to his alma mater to attempt to rebuild the football program.
Late Saturday night, a long-time close friend of Harbaugh's — a television sportscaster in the Bay Area — tweeted that Harbaugh was expected to be introduced as Michigan's 20th head football coach Tuesday. The sportscaster, Dave Feldman, works for Comcast Sports Network Bay Area, went to school with Harbaugh at Palo Alto High and hosts the pregame show and other game-day broadcast elements for the 49ers. Friends for decades, Harbaugh allowed Feldman to accompany him on his annual summer missionary pilgrimage to Peru to film a documentary last year.
No person with closer ties to Harbaugh has stated for the record that he would be the replacement for Brady Hoke, who was fired Dec.
The 49ers ended a four-game losing streak with a 20-17 victory over Arizona, finishing 8-8. Harbaugh received a game ball from the sealing interception and a Gatorade bath from his players in the final minute.
In his postgame news conference, before the team's announcement, all of his answers were past tense, as if his 49ers' tenure was in the past.
"As I've said all along, you work at the pleasure of the organization," Harbaugh said. "It's been a tremendous four years. It's been a pleasure to work and serve for this organization. I feel great about these accomplishments. ... I feel good."
Did he leave on good terms? "Yes. I had the time of my life. It's like that song. I did, I really did."
Did he have any regrets? "Not that I can think of. I feel good."
What was the top criteria for his next job? "I think we've covered as much as we can cover."
Harbaugh said he had a good discussion with his players about his future but did not tell them where he would coach next.
"I know whatever team he goes to, NFL or college, he'll be fine," said 49ers running back Frank Gore.
Time to move on
Before Feldman's tweet, multiple reports Saturday cited a pending job switch. The first came from the Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, who cited unnamed sources within the 49ers' coaching staff as saying Harbaugh was headed to Michigan.
On Sunday, two prominent football journalists — one who covers the NFL, one who covers colleges — added to the chorus.
On ESPN Radio, John Clayton put it as a certainty that Harbaugh would coach at Michigan, the first prominent NFL insider to do so. Every Sunday for the past month, NFL insiders have proclaimed that Harbaugh would stay in the NFL or wanted to stay in the NFL.
"I would say 100%," Clayton said on ESPN Radio. "Because over the last couple days, he's actually been calling coaches around the National Football League to see if they would come to college. Guys right now that may be in a position where they're going to be losing their jobs with their teams. So he's trying crazy to do this. So it's pretty well set they'll work out the deal by Tuesday and he'll end up being the Michigan coach."
That was followed about a half-hour later by tweets from Bruce Feldman, the college football insider for Fox Sports. He said Harbaugh and his family would fly to Michigan today and attend Tuesday's Big Ten opener against Illinois at Crisler Center.
A large portion of the rabid Michigan fan base believes Tuesday is the target as well. The basketball program announced Sunday afternoon that the Illinois had been sold out. If fans want tickets to see Harbaugh, er, basketball, they're available on StubHub for a moderate markup: the minimum ticket went for $129. For the Minnesota on Jan. 10: $35.
Inside the stadium
Although Harbaugh had a year remaining on the five-year, $25-million contract he signed in January 2011, a feeling of inevitably hung over Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara for what most fans and observers expected would be his final game as 49ers coach.
Despite the storm swirling around him, Harbaugh appeared calm in the eye. Some local reporters speculated he even seemed looser than usual.
Harbaugh walked out to midfield and spoke briefly to Arizona coach Bruce Arians. Then, in an odd moments, hugged and chatted with 49ers owner and CEO Jed York. According to NFL insiders, a rocky relationship between Harbaugh and management — York and general manager Trent Baalke specifically — was the reason the 49ers did not want him to return and he did not want to return.
Yet Harbaugh followed the path he explained last week, when he said "the high road is the only road I know."
Wearing cleats as he has much of this season, the coach operated like most of the players during warm-ups. He threw sideline out routes, rotating with starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick, took snaps under center for hand-offs to the tailbacks and caught short passes from the quarterbacks to stretch their arms.
If he wasn't in his standard coaching uniform — black 49ers shirt, black 49ers hat, khaki pants — the 51-year-old former Pro Bowler looked like he could step in under center. (Considering Arizona was on its third-string QB, it may not have been a stretch.)
A few random yells emanated from the stands, begging him to stay and thanking him for taking the 49ers to three straight NFC championship games, including a Super Bowl.
Among the thousands — for a 7-8 team, the home stadium was nowhere near full — was Jerame Lennen of Stockton, Calif., holding the sign capturing the moment of the unusual afternoon.
"Who's got it better than us… Michigan!"
Lennen, a 32-year season-ticket holder with no ties to the Wolverines, was playing off the mantra Harbaugh's father, Jack ,always told his children, Jim, John and Joani: "Who's got it better than us? Nobody."
He had no reason to like Michigan. Now he has one.
"I'm a Harbaugh guy, don't want him to go," he said. "That's why I'm saying Michigan's got it better than us now."
The next steps
Hackett and U-M spokesmen basically have declined all comment during the search for Hoke's replacement. The word from the Wolverines has been simple: When we have something to announce, we will announce it.
Before Harbaugh could become U-M's coach — or anyone's coach — though, he had unfinished business with the 49ers with this weekend. He had to coach Sunday's game. He had to deal with the final year of his contract.
He took care of the latter at some point before the former. The 49ers' released statements included prepared quotes form York and Harbaugh.
From York: "Jim and I have come to the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interest to move in different directions. "We thank Jim for bringing a tremendous competitive nature and a great passion for the game to the 49ers. He and his staff restored a winning culture that has been the standard for our franchise throughout its history. Their commitment and hard work resulted in a period of success that should be looked back on proudly by our organization and our fans. We wish Jim and his family all the best."
Harbaugh, who has taken the 49ers to the NFC championship game the past three seasons, had not addressed any of the speculation leading up to the game, sticking with his mantra: "Whatever will happen, will happen. Whatever won't, won't."
In a high-profile coaching search, there always are back-channel communications with an agent or friends or mentors or facilitators. Harbaugh has declined to address speculation about his future in his daily dealings with the media as an NFL head coach. Baalke revealed on his radio show this past week that he appreciated that U-M contacted the 49ers.
That suggested there is a deal to be negotiated — a buyout, a release, a firing or a resignation.
According to several reports, U-M officials have been in the Bay Area over the weekend waiting for their turn to talk formally with Harbaugh.
Harbaugh could have several NFL options — with more say than an average coach — with the Oakland Raiders, the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears, although none is on the verge of contention. But multiple NFL jobs turn over yearly, giving him options if he wanted go to Ann Arbor and later return to the pros. If U-M were to hire a different coach who was a long-term fit, though, Harbaugh may never get the chance again to coach at his alma mater.
The NFL Network reported Dec.
Dissenting opinions
On Sunday morning, there was still caution emerging from some NFL insiders. They would not say Harbaugh was all but signed, sealed and delivered to Ann Arbor.
"There is no deal," ESPN's Adam Schefter said on "SportsCenter," although he conceded Ann Arbor was Harbaugh's likely landing spot.
On the NFL Network, insider Ian Rapoport put the reports more on the Michigan camp than the Harbaugh camp.
"They hope Jim Harbaugh will be their next coach and they hope to bring him home from California either tonight or possibly Monday after Harbaugh meets with his players and meets with 49ers brass and informs them what he wants to do," Rapoport said. "I'm told at this point, though no firm deal is in place, nothing is signed but Michigan, officials hope there will be one after tonight's game."
Rapoport also noted there were other suitors.
"The Oakland Raiders have not been told they are out, that is worth noting, and the Chicago Bears, if they do clean house, are a wild-card team for Jim Harbaugh," Rapoport said.
The NFL reporters talk to NFL people and Harbaugh returning to the college ranks with such a strong resume would be extremely rare. That has led to plenty of skepticism.
CBS Sports' Jason LaCanfora, a former Free Press writer, shared some of that on Twitter: "There will be plenty of NFL execs who won't believe Harbaugh to Michigan is done until they see the press conference with their own eyes."