Jim Harbaugh Says He Expects to Remain Michigan Coach in 2023

Two NFL teams have reportedly expressed their interest in the Wolverines coach.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and the school released a statement Thursday where he said he expects to stay put in 2023 after reports that several NFL teams are interested in him. 

“As I stated in December, while no one knows what the future holds, I expect that I will be enthusiastically coaching Michigan in 2023,” he said in the release.

On Tuesday, Will Kunkel of Charlotte Sports Live reported that Harbaugh spoke to Panthers owner David Tepper about the team’s coaching vacancy. But the Wolverines coach addressed his future with the program with the same publication and had the same sentiment he had in his Thursday release. 

“Although no one knows the future, I think I will be coaching Michigan next year,” Harbaugh told Queen City News. 

A Michigan Man through and through.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/ZLZiCSw8AG

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) January 5, 2023

The Broncos are another team that have reportedly shown interest in Harbaugh with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero both reporting that Denver is “doing homework” on him ahead of its own coaching search. Per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, Denver already has reached out to Harbaugh to let him know the team is interested. But it appears he won’t be taking any NFL job this offseason. 

Michigan went 13–1 this season and lost 51–45 to TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinals. He interviewed for the Vikings’ coaching job last year and said he wouldn’t consider returning to the NFL again. 

Harbaugh had a 44-19-1 record as the 49ers’ coach from 2011 to ’14 and led the organization to the NFC championship game three times—one of which would go on to be a Super Bowl appearance after the ’12 season.