ANN ARBOR, Mich – Michigan 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.
— Brandon L. Carr (@Carrpediem21) January 20, 2022
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“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.
Unlike Mike Mayock, Raiders’ interim HC Rich Bisaccia remains with the team at this time, but Las Vegas has submitted interview requests for at least one head-coaching candidate.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 17, 2022
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.
