After flirting with the NFL several times in recent years, Jim Harbaugh is heading back to the league as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 60-year-old has reportedly agreed to leave Michigan and is returning to his West Coast roots.
The move comes after a season for Harbaugh and the Wolverines that was as notable for what happened off the field as their success on it. They finished 15-0 and capped off the year with a 34-13 victory over Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
However, the school issued a self-imposed three-game suspension for Harbaugh to start the 2023 campaign stemming from alleged recruiting violations during a COVID-19 dead period.
During the season, Michigan staffer Connor Stalions resigned from his position amid an investigation by the NCAA into allegations of sign-stealing.
Harbaugh denied having any knowledge of sign-stealing within the program, but he said he would cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation.
On Nov. 10, the Big Ten announced Harbaugh was being suspended for the final three games of the regular season as part of its discipline under the sportsmanship policy.
The university filed an emergency temporary restraining order in an attempt to keep Harbaugh on the sidelines. Michigan ultimately dropped the case, opting to let its coach serve the suspension.
Harbaugh had flirted with a return to the NFL in recent years. When the Minnesota Vikings were looking for a new head coach after the 2021 season, he met with members of the front office. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah knows Harbaugh well after they worked together for two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers from 2013 to 2014.
Things fell apart with the Vikings, though, with ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reporting Harbaugh went into his interview “under the assumption” he was going to get the job:
