Harbaugh and Chargers are in “striking distance” of getting a deal done, per Mike Garafolo
per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media
Harbaugh wanted the job last year, but it wasn’t open. He’s currently interviewing for the job a second time. As one league source tells PFT, “He wants it.”
Harbaugh is in LA today for another meeting with the team.
Let's hope PFT's reporting is wrong again.
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:54 PM ^
Yeh, not sure how anyone can credibly dispute that.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:04 PM ^
Pathetic!
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:35 PM ^
Michigan, get in there and get it done before Harbaugh gets taken out of your hands.
Don't fumble it. Don't blow it. Get a move on.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
Better email Warde and tell him to accept Harbaughs terms then !!! Simple it’s always been there …
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:56 PM ^
I don’t think there is anything UM can do to “get it done.” Harbaugh doesn’t want to deal with the endless bullshit of the NCAA, which will look the other way at tampering and pay-to-play but go full nuclear on cheeseburgers; or having to pay the price for some rogue clown putting together a hair-brained scheme; or the B1G and its unique collection of fuck-faced hypocrites; or a school that wouldn’t stand up and fight for him the way other schools have done for their coaches; or kissing the asses of 17 year olds who, according to Klatt, are showing up to signing day driving Lamborghinis.
Don’t blame ya, Jim. Thanks for the memories, and I’ll root for you in LA.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:36 PM ^
He’s not going to win a title with the Chargers. Seems like an odd choice but I guess that’s to be expected from an odd coach.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:02 PM ^
This is one of the many things that bothers me about this. This reminds me of Beilein to the Cavs. In 2 years he gets fired after not magically winning tons of games with a crap roster and being strangled by a horribly constructed cap structure.
JH is a great coach, but great coaches have been screwed before by abysmal situations and impatient owners. Heck, it's the standard behavior in the NFL. So Michigan's program dies (to some degree tbd) and JH has almost no chance to realize his dream.. The chargers and falcons seem like lose/lose.
Rob
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:56 PM ^
Agree that the Chargers are a bad spot, but the Falcons have a ton of things going for them. They'll win a division title long before the Chargers do.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:55 PM ^
He's won everywhere he's been. I'm sure he sees Herbert and thinks he can build a team and style around him that will win in LA.
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:57 PM ^
Tough to build without cap space and or a ton of extra draft picks.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
Jokes on them. We have had Jim "within striking distance" since late October...
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
I won’t be surprised if he gets the job, but this column is just like every other one over the last three years. Nobody knows anything.
”He wants it” isn’t really breaking news when someone interviews for a job.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:53 PM ^
”He wants it” isn’t really breaking news when someone interviews for a job.
You would perhaps be shocked to know how often it actually would in fact be breaking news…
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:39 PM ^
Agree, of course he wants it, at least a little bit, if he's interviewing. I feel like they buried the lede by mentioning that the Chargers don't have a GM. That seems like a way bigger deal for me, and something I didn't know. Does that mean he can get more control? Or is he going into a situation where he doesn't know who the GM will be?
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:58 PM ^
The GMs they have been interviewing apparently have some ties to Jim.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
I would like to see Harbaugh make a quick decision one way or the other.
And I hope that the administration will make a strong move to retain Minter if Harbaugh leaves.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:47 PM ^
I would like to see Harbaugh make a quick decision one way or the other.
Waaay too late for that.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:40 PM ^
If he could wrap this up as soon as possible and leave Minter here that'd be greeeeaaaaatttt.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:44 PM ^
We’re gonna need all these guys to go ahead and come in on Saturday.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:52 PM ^
I heard Ryan Day f'd Lumberg. Showed him his "O" face.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:40 PM ^
this article is a bunch of nothing..... Jim wanted the Charger's job last year, but it wasn't available? WTF? I thought it was Oakland he wanted, because that's where he got his start? Oh no, it was the Bear's job he wanted...... wait, he interviewed in Atlanta..... that's where he wanted to be.... how about the Colts he played there too......
Last year on Feb. 1st Jim confirmed he would be coaching at Michigan for the upcoming season... This year, on Feb. 1st he will do the same.
I say this with 57% conviction.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:40 PM ^
To me, the grass is definitely not greener on the other side. He has it made here and absolutely worshipped by all but who am I stay don't chase your dreams. Happy he was able to win it all here because my end impression of the man would have likely been different.
I hope this reaches an end quickly because the afterglow of winning a national championship just isn't there for me. There should be recruiting currency that is created. Instead, it is our hated rival that is cashing in while we sign long snappers from the portal.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:48 PM ^
We can have nice things now but only for about one week.
January 23rd, 2024 at 4:11 PM ^
Are you out of your mind?
They would give Woody's left nut to trade places with UM..THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS.
All they are doing is playing catch up...and even the most talented teams on paper don't get to were UM is right now.
Time will tell..but for now only one team sits atop CFB and its NOT the buckeyes...
January 23rd, 2024 at 4:34 PM ^
Yes, I might be a little crazy.
Having said that, the teams were very even last year. They were very close to taking that game from us in Ann Arbor. So, if you give Michigan a slight edge when the season ended, I would say they are no longer playing catch-up and have passed us from a talent standpoint.
I will always take being the champ rather than chasing the champ but my point is, we should be benefiting from this win and 2 weeks afterward, it simply is not the case.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:40 PM ^
Been a packers fan for 10 years now. Living in Florida, I also root for the Jags, but the Chargers will be my new favorite team now.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:46 PM ^
Feels like theres more smoke forming this year than in years prior. Im mentally prepped for the twitter announcement any day now
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:54 PM ^
I think this is more the fact that people care about Harbaugh more now since winning the Natty. He's far more relevant and generates far more clicks now than in years past
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:05 PM ^
Not really. You don't remember the Vikings saga last year?
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:10 PM ^
exactly.... it was all but over with....he had an 8 hour interview and he was GONE..... until he wasn't.
January 23rd, 2024 at 4:00 PM ^
2 years ago.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
Also there are so many jobs available this year, many high profile candidates, and the NFL has moved the calendar to where no one can make a decision until I believe this week (with the exception of Mayo in NE where he had an existing contract provision that allowed him to be elevated immediately).
The drawn out process means that all these teams are interviewing multiple candidates multiple times. In some cases there's real uncertainty about who will be hired. In DC with the Commanders, I think everyone is assuming they will hire Ben Johnson as soon as they are able.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
Sucks that I have to root for an LA team now. This would be a lot better if the Charges were still in San Diego.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
i don't assign him any blame, he should do what he wants to do. but I think making a multi-year legacy at UM, maybe with 2 or more nattys, is probably a better accomplishment/greater legacy than jumping to the nfl and winning a single super bowl
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:55 PM ^
In terms of legacy, from the Michigan perspective, having a winning record against Ohio State is bar none the most important thing he could accomplish.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:03 PM ^
While a winning record against the Buckeyes is a nice thing - he did get off to a slow start in that category.
I would say winning a National Championship is a much more valued legacy than his record against any team.
As an aside - what was Coach Carr's record against OSU? Is Carr remembered for that? I think Lloyd's record against the Buckeyes was fine - especially, prior to Tressel. But, it's the NC that Carr brought that, IMO, is more prominent.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:58 PM ^
Lloyd had a 6-7 record against Ohio State and started fast in winning three of his first four meetings against the Buckeyes just like his predecessor, Gary Moeller who finished with a 3-1-1 record. By contrast, Bo had a 11-9-1 career record against the Buckeyes from 1969-1989.
January 23rd, 2024 at 4:18 PM ^
I can see your point about '97. Those moments live in my memory as the best moment in Michigan football history, because I was there for it all, bashed beers with some of those dudes at house parties, felt the sun on my face that glorious afternoon in Pasadena.
As far as Carr's legacy, however, the run against the Buckeyes from 1995 to 2000 carries a lot of weight. Conversely, Carr also bears the burden of losing the winnable games (2001, 2005, 2006) that swung the balance of power in the Game for twenty years. Carr is remembered for the latter as much as the former. Such is the significance of the Game.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:51 PM ^
Just more public gamesmanship as a means of negotiation. I am not certain if he comes or goes, but this is nothing.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:55 PM ^
If the reports are true then the Chargers have an offer on the table. That's certainly something.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:51 PM ^
He's not gonna work at the Gap, for chrissakes!
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:52 PM ^
I get the sense Jim is not negotiating with Michigan in good faith. His mind is elsewhere. He doesn't owe us anything. But if he leaves to go coach a random NFL team rather than lead a program that has reached heights it hasn't seen since Fritz Crisler shows the fatal flaw in the myth of Harbaugh as a Michigan Man. He is in it for Jim Harbaugh. He certainly has the right to do so. It is also true that he has contributed quite a bit to the program, at distinct points in his life. This diminishes him in my eyes, however.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:57 PM ^
Amen.
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
Its not so much him leaving, its the nature in which he's going about it that is the issue.
He was able to get away with this the last two years because of the roster. Next year the team will be good, but has far more question marks than 2022 or 2023. And the head coach is currently harming the team he claims to care so much for by not making a decision on where he wants to coach.
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:28 PM ^
Sure he is. The agent driven protocol is to get a NFL offer and then negotiate Michigans best offer and then pick.
January 23rd, 2024 at 4:21 PM ^
You could be right. Healthy competition from the NFL is not "bad faith." Only Jim Harbaugh really knows if Michigan ever had a chance, and it isn't over until it is over. This is just my impression based on incomplete information.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:54 PM ^
In the last few weeks I had been a bit less critical of Warde. Now that an NFL deal is getting closer to fruition, I've changed my tune a bit.
If my boss suspended me without notice for a bullshit infraction, I'd be pissed. Could've sacked up and told the NCAA to fuck off. Instead he capitulated like a bitch to the NCAA (and stapleton's wishes?). We know there's an "icy relationship" per JUB. I don't inherently blame Warde for this on it's own, but JH, despite being quirky, seems like the guy you wanna keep around. Spygate was a bit of a different beast but, you just wonder if Warde being there and not having his back might've created the extra push he needed to hit the road. We'll likely never know.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:58 PM ^
I agree with most of that, but I think even if we don't "know" we'll have a "damn good idea" sooner or later, especially on this board.
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:03 PM ^
I don't think that Harbaigh is entirely Warde's fault. I also don't think he's blameless. Seven years ago, we had Beilein, Bakich, and Harbaugh. Now we have none. Our nonrevenue sports have declined this year. Then, you have Mel Pearson, Shemy, Caleb Love, NIL etc. and I don't know how you can say Warde is doing a great job.