Jim Harbaugh tells Charlotte news outlet: ‘I think I will be coaching Michigan next year’

It’s the month of January, so you know what that means — Jim Harbaugh to the NFL rumors and stories being written and discussed ad nauseum.

The latest story was published late Tuesday night by Charlotte Sports Live. In a brief conversation they had with the Michigan Wolverines head coach, Harbaugh said he believes he will be coaching in Ann Arbor in 2023.

“Although no one knows the future, I think I will be coaching Michigan next year,” Harbaugh said.

The owner of the Carolina Panthers, David Tepper, reached out to Harbaugh on Tuesday to converse about the head coaching job they have open after they fired Matt Rhule earlier this year. The Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts also reportedly have interest in him.

This coming Monday in the NFL is infamously known as “Black Monday,” the first day where franchises that didn’t make the playoffs part ways with their head coach. Odds are this will go on until then, and probably even longer than that, depending on which other teams are in need of a head coach.

The rumors of Harbaugh leaving to the NFL are no stranger to us in the state of Michigan. Following the 2016 season, he told the team the NFL rumors are “lies made up by our enemies.” He took it a step further the following season after the Outback Bowl and said any speculation like that is “like warmed up oatmeal.”

But beginning last season, there hasn’t really been any public statement saying Harbaugh was going to stay — no definitive word on if he will be in Ann Arbor moving forward. We all know about the Minnesota Vikings situation last year, but even then the only real notification he was coming back was with an article by Mitch Albom following his interview in Minnesota.

The NFL itch is certainly there for Harbaugh, and rightfully so. He’s one of the best head coaches in the country in either college or the NFL and wants to compete and win. With Black Monday coming up, we’ll get a good idea very soon if Harbaugh will stay at Michigan or take a longer look at NFL jobs.