Report: Jim Harbaugh 'Conveyed Legitimate Interest' in Vikings HC Job This Weekend
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh had an initial conversation with the Vikings and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Saturday about the team's head coaching vacancy. It wasn't an official interview, but a discussion about Harbaugh's interest level that could potentially lead to a real interview this week. According to a new report, it sounds like the interest might actually be there for this to have a chance of happening.
"Jim Harbaugh conveyed legitimate interest in the Vikings' head-coaching job during his interview with the team, per source, with Minnesota coming away feeling Harbaugh is ready for a return to the NFL," reports ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "As of now, he's still considered in the mix for that job."
The Vikings are set to have second, in-person interviews with three strong candidates this week: 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell, and Rams DC Raheem Morris. Ryans and O'Connell would be very interesting hires as young, first-time head coaches who have shot through the coaching ranks since their playing days ended, and there are a bunch of reasons to like Morris as a candidate.
But if Harbaugh wants to come to Minnesota, I'd imagine it would be awfully tough for the Vikings to go in any other direction.
Plain and simply, it's tough to argue with his track record of success at all four of his coaching stops. Harbaugh went 29-6 at the University of San Diego to kick off his head coaching career. He then went 29-21 in four years at Stanford, but that included a 20-6 record over his final two seasons. Then Harbaugh made the jump to the NFL and went 49-22-1 with the 49ers over four years, making three straight NFC title game appearances and playing in one Super Bowl. During his final two seasons in San Francisco, Adofo-Mensah worked in the front office. Harbaugh took over at Michigan after that, where he's gone 61-24 in seven seasons.
Are there reasons to be concerned about Harbaugh's personality and his relatively short first stint in the NFL? Sure. But those win-loss records make it easily worth the risk, in my opinion. Plus, Harbaugh would probably fill out a killer coaching staff, with names like Vic Fangio (DC) and Pep Hamilton (OC) rumored to be interested in joining him if he returns to the NFL.
This is far from a sure thing. Michigan-based author and journalist John U. Bacon, who has been tracking the Harbaugh Watch closely, still puts the odds of a return to the Wolverines at 60 percent, for now. This could be a leverage ploy for a Michigan extension, and the Miami Dolphins have also been connected to Harbaugh in rumors as well.
Still, the steam is picking up. It's sounding less and less crazy to think that Jim Harbaugh might be the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Stay tuned.
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