Report: Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh open to Raiders job if offered

Could Mark Davis make Jim Harbaugh an offer he couldn’t refuse?

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh watches the scoreboard during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Indiana, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) (Carlos Osorio, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

ANN ARBOR, MichMichigan insiders within the football program suspect Jim Harbaugh would take the head coaching position for the Las Vegas Raiders if the position were offered to him, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported Wednesday.

Recommended Videos



“Multiple sources inside Michigan football told The Athletic this week that they think if Harbaugh is offered the Raiders head coaching job, he’d take it,” Feldman wrote. “They also know that Harbaugh can be hard to read. Their hunches could be wrong — but they also know he’s never coached anywhere longer than four years prior to his seven years and running in Ann Arbor. They’ve each believed that he, at some point, would want to coach in the NFL again.”

Read: Michigan football’s Jim Harbaugh reportedly playing hardball on Black Monday

No decision has been made yet on Raiders current interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who led the silver and black to their first playoff appearance since 2016, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals 26-19 in the AFC Wild Card Round.

Bisaccia took over for exiled head coach Jon Gruden who had to resign in October after he was caught sending racist, misogynistic, and anti-gay emails to Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder which ultimately shamed him out of the league.

Bisaccia took over the reins of the then 3-2 Raiders, going 7-5 down the stretch to finishing the regular season at 10-7. Still, the record couldn’t save the job of former general manager Mike Mayock who was relieved of his duties earlier this week.

Two seasons ago, no team besides Michigan wanted to touch Harbaugh with a 10-foot pole. A year later, he is the hottest coach in the game after he and his team went on a magical run for the ages.

Read: Michigan football: 2021 season in review

Michigan has already extended him through 2025, but the deal was at a discount rate, causing the leader of men to take a $4 million discount to stay with his alma mater.

With slightly modified incentives, including pay raises for his assistant coaches, combined with more lenient NIL rules to help compete with top teams like Alabama and Georgia, Harbaugh should be in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future.


About the Author:

Brandon Carr is a digital content producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with WDIV Local 4 since November 2021. Brandon is the 2015 Solomon Kinloch Humanitarian award recipient for Community Service.