Jim Harbaugh didn’t hire Don Yee to push paper. Harbaugh hired him to push the envelope, when it comes to how much money will be inside it.
There’s nothing wrong with trying to get as much money as possible to be a head coach. It’s a demanding, stressful job. To do it right, you’re never off the clock. You give your life to it. It becomes who you are.
So, yes, Harbaugh should try to get as much as he can. Some within league circles think that’s exactly what he’s doing — and that it could end up sending him back to Michigan.
The Chargers and Falcons have emerged as the two NFL teams most interested in Harbaugh. If, as it appears, Harbaugh is a Plan B to Bill Belichick (or, perhaps, the internal candidate preferred by folks who are more likely to be fired or neutered by Belichick) in Atlanta, it looks like the Chargers or no one for Harbaugh. And if the Chargers are playing it on the cheap side with Harbaugh, he might end up getting the most money to stay at Michigan.
It’s all to be determined at this point. But if Harbaugh will be inclined to go where he’ll get the most moolah, it’s possible he’ll get there by going back to the place where he just reached the pinnacle of his career — even if he knows there’s a higher mountain to climb in the NFL.
That said, the other teams with NFL vacancies (Titans, Commanders, Seahawks, Panthers) should be talking to Harbaugh. He has proven that he can win and win quickly in the NFL. But the broader power structure in a given organization can work against Harbaugh, given his reputation for being hard to work with. (Note: Great coaches are often hard to work with.) Some won’t want him in the building, even if his presence would be conducive to winning.
Barring a change, it’s looking like Chargers, Falcons, or Wolverines. If it comes down to the money, Harbaugh could end up staying in the place where it’s easier to pay the head coach a lot of money because there’s no line item in the budget for player salaries.