Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has a year left on his contract from Michigan, and the past month there’s been heightened speculation about his future with the program.
Harbaugh to the NFL speculation has proven to be unfounded during his tenure as Michigan’s head coach, but with just that one year left on his contract and an extension not yet signed, it leads to reporters asking former players of Harbaugh about his NFL prospects.
Future hall-of-fame running back, third all time in rushing yards, Frank Gore, who played for the New York Jets this season, was asked if Harbaugh heading back to the NFL would surprise him.
“Nah, that wouldn’t surprise me. Because knowing Harbaugh, very competitive, even though he didn’t win at Michigan. When he was with us (San Francisco 49ers) I know we had a chance to get there, got a chance to get to the Super Bowl, we didn’t win it. Got the chance to knock on the door a couple years,” Gore said. “I knew that he would come back because I know that’s what he want to do. I love Harbaugh. Very competitive coach, he’s gonna be fine. I hope he do come back though.”
Gore was also asked how Harbaugh would fare coaching the Jets, who went just 2-14. “He’ll make this team very competitive,” Gore said. “He’ll get a great staff with him. He knows how to get the guys to go to war for him, to do whatever it takes and try their best to win. That’s my man. Harbaugh is my man.”
When Harbaugh left Stanford for the San Francisco 49ers in 2011 Harbaugh called the NFL the highest level. “It’s with humility and a little bit of a heavy heart that I leave Stanford. The chance to compete at the highest level was overwhelming to me,” Harbaugh said. A lot has changed since then, Harbaugh has been quite loyal to Michigan through the years, but quotes of years past still carry weight.
There hasn’t been any clear-cut indication that Harbaugh is actively pursuing the NFL, but it’s clear he still has players at the professional level who believe in him.