Report: If Jim Irsay Offers, Jim Harbaugh Could Come to Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have one game left in the 2022 season. After that, things will get quite interesting for the Horseshoe.
Colts’ owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard will begin their search for the organization’s next head coach. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday will be considered for the role full-time. However, after going 1-6 so far in his tenure, with the Colts looking worse by the week, there are sure to be better candidates.
One potential candidate that has been gaining steam lately is University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has been the head coach of the Wolverines since 2015, going 74-25 (74.7%) in eight years and leading his squad to the College Football Playoff each of the last two seasons.
Harbaugh has not coached in the NFL since 2014 when he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In four seasons, Harbaugh went 44-19-1 (69.5%), leading the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship games and an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII.
After having success at Michigan, could Harbaugh have his sights on returning to the NFL? It seems that could be the case.
According to a report from The Athletic, sources close to Harbaugh believe it would be a “done deal” for Harbaugh to leave Michigan if an NFL team offered to make him their head coach. Harbaugh was considered for the Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching vacancy last season, even meeting with top team officials. He was never offered the job.
“There was a pull to the NFL because I got that close to the Super Bowl,” Harbaugh said last spring. “But this was the time. And this is the last time. Now let’s go chase college football’s greatest prize.”
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
While Harbaugh said it was the last time he would entertain the idea of going back to the NFL, those close to the Wolverines’ head coach say he still has a desire to capture a Super Bowl victory. If he is interested in a return to pro football, multiple teams will be vying for his services.
The Colts are likely to be one of those teams. Multiple league sources are convinced that Irsay will make a run at Harbaugh to be the team’s next head coach. Harbaugh played with the Colts from 1994-1997 as the team’s starting quarterback. Harbaugh is also a member of the team’s Ring of Honor.
Another team that has already made their interest in Harbaugh known is the Denver Broncos. According to several reports by national NFL insiders, the Broncos have reached out to Harbaugh to gauge his interest in their head coach opening. The Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathanial Hackett on December 26 after going 4-11 in his tenure.
The bidding war for Harbaugh’s return to the NFL looks to be on. With the Colts likely interested as well, Irsay will have to sell Harbaugh on the Colts just as much as Harbaugh will have to sell himself to Irsay. The Colts have lost six straight games, do not have a quarterback in place for next season, have questions regarding the future of the front office, and have an owner that has become increasingly meddlesome this season.
Will Irsay open up the checkbook to bring Harbaugh to Indy? Will Harbaugh want to return to coach his former team? The answers to these burning questions will become clear in the next couple of weeks.
However, in a time of uncertainty for the Colts, one thing is certain: The 2023 offseason is going to be a wild ride.
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