Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh interviews with Los Angeles Chargers for head-coaching vacancy

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who completed his ninth season leading the Wolverines to a national championship, has interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers confirmed the interview late afternoon on Monday, one week after Michigan defeated Washington 34-13 for the College Football Playoff national championship, and two days after the team was celebrated with a parade in Ann Arbor and a sold-out celebration at Crisler Center a few hours later Saturday night.

The Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco on Dec. 15.

Harbaugh was asked repeatedly about his coaching future during the two-week national championship run and generally side-stepped the questions by replying with some version of having a “one-track mind” as the Wolverines approached Alabama in the Rose Bowl national semifinal and then Washington in the title game.

He is mulling a contract extension from Michigan that would make him the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten, but he is also clearly considering NFL options. There are several openings, but Harbaugh's name has mostly been linked to the Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders.

He coached San Francisco four seasons and reached the 2013 Super Bowl, but lost to older brother John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens. Harbaugh has spoken of a desire to try to win a Super Bowl. In 2022, he traveled to Minnesota to interview for the Vikings head coaching position but returned without an offer and signed a five-year extension at Michigan through 2026. In early 2023, he had conversations with Denver about that position, as well.

At the national title game media day on Jan. 6, Harbaugh was asked if he had assured Michigan’s administration he would be returning.

“There’s a calendar,” Harbaugh said at the time. “I’ll gladly talk about the future next week. I hope to have one. How about that? A future? I hope to have one.”

During the team celebration last Saturday night, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel told the crowd he was working to keep Harbaugh at Michigan, a sentiment he shared with The Detroit News before and after the national title game.

“I am working on getting this man a new contract. I promise you,” Manuel told the crowd. The cheers roared in response, and Harbaugh, sitting on the stage to Manuel’s right, patted his heart, then placed his hands together and acknowledged the crowd.

Michigan has gone 89-25, including 40-3 the last three seasons, under Harbaugh's direction the last nine seasons. The Wolverines 15-0 record is a school-best and they’re one of four teams in college football to achieve that mark. Michigan has won the last three Big Ten championships and has three-straight wins over Ohio State beginning in 2021 to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Wolverines’ rivals. Michigan made the CFP semifinals each of the last three years but this is the first time the Wolverines played in the title game.

Since the celebration Saturday night, a number of Michigan players have declared for the NFL Draft, including quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was 27-1 as starter, six offensive linemen who made starts last season as well as leading rusher Blake Corum and receiver Roman Wilson. On defense, linebacker Junior Colson and edge rusher Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell are among those who decided to head to the NFL rather than return to Michigan.

The national championship capped what was a challenging season for Harbaugh, 60, who was suspended six regular-season games. He missed the first three games of the 2023 season as part of a school-imposed suspension relating to an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations from 2021 during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. Michigan received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA last month and likely will go before the Committee on Infractions at a hearing this spring. Harbaugh is facing a Level I violation for allegedly misleading and lying to investigators and could be penalized with additional game suspensions this fall.

Then, in mid-October, the Big Ten announced the NCAA was investigating the Michigan football program for an alleged illegal scouting/sign-stealing scheme. Former low-level football staffer Connor Stalions, named as the coordinator of the scheme, later resigned. Harbaugh, however was suspended the final three games, including the regular-season finale against Ohio State, by the Big Ten for a violation of its Sportsmanship Policy. In a 13-page letter outlining why the Big Ten took this stance, league commissioner Tony Petitti wrote that the Big Ten had “not yet received any information indicating the Head Football Coach Harbaugh was aware of the impermissible nature of the sign-stealing scheme.”

In early December, Harbaugh, who has generally not worked with an agent, hired well-known football agent Don Yee, who represents Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and former Michigan quarterback, among others. Yee has deep NFL ties but has also represented college coaches in negotiations and has been involved in dealings with Michigan regarding Harbaugh’s extension. Yee, based in Los Angeles, attended one of Michigan’s Rose Bowl practices and visited with Harbaugh at the Rose Bowl media day.

The Chargers in-house social media site on Monday shared a “five things to know” list about Harbaugh. The first item, “He’s a winner” detailed what the team accomplished in 2023. Then it discussed being a “Michigan Man” and how Harbaugh led the program to six seasons of 10 or more wins, including three with 12 or more wins. Then there’s the bullet point of being experienced as an NFL head coach. Harbaugh began his head coaching career at the University of San Diego (2004-2006), then Stanford (2007-2010) before taking over in San Franciso where the 49ers went 13-3 his first season. The site also mentions that Harbaugh was a first-round NFL Draft pick and played for the Chargers from 1999-2000 and made 17 starts. Finally, it mentions the Harbaugh family and its coaching successess with John Harbaugh at Baltimore and father, Jack, a longtime college coach who was an assistant at Michigan and later led Western Kentucky to the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship.

The Harbaugh family now has a CFP national champion, a Division I-AA champion and Super Bowl champion.

“Personally, I can now sit at the big person’s table in the family,” Harbaugh said after the national title win on Jan. 8 in Houston. “They won’t keep me over there on the little table anymore. My dad, Jack Harbaugh won a national championship, and my brother won a Super Bowl. So, it’s good to be at the big person’s table from now on.”

Now, if NFL teams are interested, it’s about on how big a table does Harbaugh want to coach and how satisfied he is with Michigan's extension offer.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

@chengelis