Three Reasons Jim Harbaugh Should Go To The NFL

Once again, Jim Harbaugh is looking seriously at the NFL and this year it makes a lot of sense for him to take the leap.

Even when Jim Harbaugh wasn't winning the Big Ten and making the College Football Playoff, his name would pop up during this time of year as NFL jobs came open. Sometimes it was warranted, other times it wasn't. But now, he's definitely a wanted man, at least on some level, as he's interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons. Obviously the choice isn't Harbaugh's alone as he needs to actually get a job offer before he can leave Ann Arbor, but after winning the whole damn thing, it makes sense for him to try his hand at winning a Super Bowl again. Here are three reasons why Harbaugh should go pro if given the chance.

1. The window is closing

The NFL is getting younger and younger when it comes to hiring bright, up-and-coming head coaches. There are eight head coaches who are 40 or younger, whereas Harbaugh just turned 60 a couple of days before Christmas. If Harbaugh took a job today, there would only be four coaches in the game older than him and one of them is his 61-year old brother, John. Todd Bowles, Mike McCarthy and Andy Reid make up the rest — that's it. If Jim really does want another crack at the league with a chance to win a Super Bowl, he doesn't have a lot of time left. Franchises simply aren't "starting over" with coaches in their 60s. 

2. It's mission accomplished at Michigan

Over the past three years, Harbaugh has done everything he returned to Michigan to do. He has defeated Ohio State three times, and maybe fractured their entire program in the process, he has won back-to-back-to-back Big Ten titles, he has made the College Football Playoff three straight times and as of January 8, he has won a national title. Other than lathering, rinsing and repeating, there's nothing left for Harbaugh to do at Michigan. Sure, continuing the success and burying Ohio State even more would be incredibly rewarding, but as far as doing new things or reaching new heights, Harbaugh cannot take the Wolverines any higher. Going 15-0 while throttling Michigan State, beating Ohio State again, winning another Big Ten Championship, defeating Alabama in overtime in the Rose Bowl and pushing Nick Saban into retirement and beating Washington by 21 points in the title game is pretty much the perfect ending to a tenure. 

3. A lot of changes are coming

Whether it's the ever-growing importance of NIL that Michigan still doesn't seem quite all in on, the seedy world of free agency that is the transfer portal, the potential punishments coming from the NCAA because of Harbaugh's rule breaking (egregious or not), the insanely difficult 2024 schedule for Michigan due to the new and improved Big Ten Conference, the expanded College Football Playoff that threatens the importance of major rivalries, the potential loss of stellar assistant coaches for the next level or all of the players leaving Michigan for the next level after this past season — huge changes are on the horizon. Any one of those things is a lot to deal with in between seasons and Harbaugh is literally dealing with all of them at once. He just won it all, he's getting older and he's dealing with stuff that coaches simply didn't have to deal with even five years ago. It's the perfect time to ride off into the sunset.