It became even more obvious over the weekend that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh continues to have a high degree of loyalty and affection for former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, given that Harbaugh carved out an opportunity during the Wolverines spring game to give Kaepernick a chance to conduct an in-person throwing session for NFL scouts. Harbaugh’s gesture has sparked questions regarding whether the Vikings’ decision not to hire Harbaugh was influenced in any way by the possibility that Harbaugh would have tried to bring Kaepernick to Minnesota.
The question of whether Harbaugh would give Kaepernick a job isn’t a new one. We’ve raised it before. It also was a point made when Tim Tebow got his fantasy-camp opportunity a year ago in Jacksonville. Urban Meyer was the only coach in America that would have given Tebow a shot, and Harbaugh may be the only coach in America who would give Kaepernick one.
That said, Harbaugh didn’t propose Kaepernick as a quarterback on the roster when meeting with the Vikings. At most, Kaepernick’s name emerged as a potential option for quarterbacks coach, if/when he decided to abandon his desire to play.
More importantly for present purposes, the Kaepernick angle did not cause the Vikings to go in a different direction. Putting it another way, Harbaugh isn’t the coach of the Vikings for reasons completely unrelated to his views on Kaepernick.
So there’s the answer, for anyone who was wondering. The league’s general aversion to Kaepernick did not cause the Vikings to become averse to the idea of hiring Jim Harbaugh.