Jim Harbaugh is back after a three-game suspension.
“I never left!” the Michigan coach said after the Wolverines won the Big Ten championship game and sealed its spot as the No. 1 team in the country entering the four-team playoff.
The question is whether Harbaugh will stay when the season ends. He might have had enough of the NCAA, which still might take action against him.
That depends on whether an NFL opportunity emerges for Harbaugh. The Panthers, as noted by Jonathan Jones of CBS is a possibility; as Jones notes, Harbaugh contacted the Panthers last year, but the Panthers weren’t interested.
Panthers owner David Tepper’s Veruca Salt tendencies could make him willing to hire someone who can swoop in and quickly win. As long as the NFL doesn’t impose on Harbaugh the same suspension the NCAA does.
Harbaugh also was interested, we’d heard, in the Chargers job last year. But no coaching change was made. If there’s a new Chargers coach after this year, maybe it will be Harbaugh.
Love him or hate him (and few are ambivalent about him), Harbaugh’s NFL resume is impressive. The only knock on him is that he’s not easy to get along with. Because he’s intense and competitive.
Guess what? Most great coaches are intensive and competitive and, in turn, not easy to get along with. If the objective is to win, you find a way to get along with him.