Jim Harbaugh to the Bears is not happening.
Football fans in the Midwest have two pressing questions as the NFL and NCAA football offseasons approach. Will Jim Harbaugh leave the Michigan football program to coach in the pros, and if so, will he go to the Chicago Bears? NFL insider Jordan Schultz says that while the first may happen, the second part is unlikely.
“The reason I’ll say the Bears will not happen definitively is because when Harbaugh was at Michigan, Kevin Warren was the Big Ten commissioner. They don’t like each other,” Schultz told Colin Cowherd on The Herd Monday. “In fact, you can say they despise one another based on the comments on the media. So, Kevin Warren, who is the President of the Bears, is not going to bring in Jim Harbaugh.”
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jim Harbaugh left Michigan for the NFL – the interest will be significant – but I’d be shocked if it were the #Bears, if that job came open.
🎥: @TheHerd @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/mQ3azxYXAP
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 18, 2023
Warren and Harbuagh’s personal animosity toward each other is well documented, so it makes sense that Jim Harbaugh to the Bears is likely a no-go if he stepped down as the Michigan football coach.
Could Jim Harbaugh still end up in the NFL?
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh between the Wolverines logo and the NFL logo.
Despite the fact that the former Bears quarterback won’t be going back to the Bears doesn’t mean Harbaugh is not destined for the pros in 2024.
Schultz also posited that with his high level of success at Michigan and the possibility that the NCAA could suspend Harbaugh for the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal after the Big Ten already banned him for three games, it wouldn’t be a shock if the former San Francisco 49ers coach bolted back to the NFL.
“Now, I’m not saying Harbaugh wouldn’t go back to the NFL,” Schultz conceded. “Michigan would love to keep him on essentially a lifetime deal. Give him tremendous, unprecedented money. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jim Harbaugh was back in the NFL because there’s going to be interest. … it will not be with the Chicago Bears.
Harbaugh and his Michigan football team next play Alabama in the College Football Playoffs on Jan. 1, 2024.