Former Browns CEO Recalls Time Team Reportedly Attempted Trade For Jim Harbaugh

A few days before the Cleveland Browns kick off their first playoff appearance since 2020 and one day after Michigan won a National Championship under the direction of Jim Harbaugh, former Browns CEO Joe Banner recalled a scenario Tuesday that might’ve drastically changed the futures of both sides had it come true.

Banner, who was with the Browns from 2012-14, shared this memory on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Not many remember that in 2014 with the Browns we agreed to a trade with the 49ers to acquire Jim Harbaugh. Unfortunately from our perspective Jim blocked the trade and look what has happened to both sides since then. Changed the next decade for both sides.
— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) January 9, 2024

Despite Banner's tweet and the reports about the Browns and Harbaugh at the time, the 49ers nor Harbugh ever admitted a deal was in place.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio was the first to report a deal was in the works, and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen later confirmed it and said talks reached “a serious stage.” The reports prompted 49ers CEO Jed York in a tweet to Ian Rapoport and Florio to reply with “is this on the record? Report isn’t true” and for Harbaugh to send a text to ESPN’s Ed Werder also declining the report.

The Browns, however, didn’t deny the report and released a statement at the time:

“The team conducted an extensive coaching search, and explored several options. That search produced an outstanding head coach in Mike Pettine and we're excited about his future with the club.”

Banner’s tweet nearly 10 years later implies a deal very much was in the works.

But because a trade never happened, Harbaugh coached the 49ers for one more season before the team parted ways with him in 2015, which led to him taking his current job at Michigan. Harbaugh has been a hotly-discussed candidate in the NFL’s 2024 head coaching cycle that features seven vacancies around the league.

The Browns, of course, had Pettine through the 2015 season before firing him. Their coaches since then have included Hue Jackson, Gregg Williams, Freddie Kitchens and Kevin Stefanski, who has provided the coaching stability the franchise sought for the past two decades.

The coaching rumors are again swirling around Harbaugh after leading Michigan to college football’s biggest stage, but the Browns will be much further removed from them this time after their second trip to the playoffs under Stefanski, who could win his second Coach of the Year Award since joining the team.