REPORTS: Jim Harbaugh turns down Broncos, again
It wasn't long after Michigan football's season ended that Harbaugh to NFL rumors started swirling again. The focus of much of the rumors was the Denver Broncos, a team who appeared desperate to make a big splash hire with rumors of $20 million annual salary offers. Harbaugh reportedly met with Broncos executives on a short zoom meeting, but never accepted an offer to do a longer face-to-face interview. On January 16, Michigan President Santa Ono announced that Harbaugh had once again committed to staying at Michigan and would not be pursuing an NFL position.
With Harbaugh out, a lot of the attention in Denver went to former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Reports early this week suggested that it was becoming less and less likely that Payton would be heading to Denver. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was a finalist for the head coaching position in Denver last season before the team ultimately chose Nathaniel Hackett. Quinn spoke with Denver again this offseason but has chosen to stay in Dallas. San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans was trending among Broncos insiders as the new favorite, but it now appears he is likely to accept the head coach position with the Houston Texans.
With all of the Bronco's top options falling through, two Broncos insiders, Will Petersen and Troy Renck are reporting Denver took another swing at the Michigan head coach.
Harbaugh turning the Broncos down again is no surprise. As our Josh Henschke reported throughout the saga, Harbaugh was likely to stay at Michigan and it wasn't as simple as "he'll leave if offered" as some reports suggested. While it is clear some conversations need to be had among the leaders at Michigan, Harbaugh has been a man of word since his time leading the Wolverines and he was making it clear privately and publicly that his heart was still in Ann Arbor.
This is a much different perception than what happened last season where Harbaugh flew to interview with Minnesota Vikings and some suggested he was returning to Michigan only because he didn't get an NFL offer. If these reports are accurate, Harbaugh has now not only rejected an NFL team to stay with his alma mater, he's done it twice in one offseason.
What's next for the Denver Broncos is anyone's guess. One possibility as Renck suggests is Harbaugh's former coordinator David Shaw. Shaw took over Stanford in 2011 when Harbaugh left to coach the San Francisco 49ers. Shaw resigned from coaching Stanford this offseason and has interviewed with the Broncos.
What's next for Jim Harbaugh is his 9th season as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. Harbaugh is coming off of back-to-back seasons where Michigan defeated Ohio State, won the Big Ten Championship, and appeared in the college football playoff. With arguably his best roster yet, the Wolverines are expected to be a preseason top 5 team, the favorites win the Big Ten again, and a National Championship contender again in 2023.
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