Discussing Jim Harbaugh's Return, His Future Actions, Next Season

Jim Harbaugh is back at Michigan — now what?

Jim Harbaugh flirted with the NFL in a major way, but now he's back at Michigan. It's been really interesting to watch people react to that development. Do people feel good about it? Are there some that wished he would've ended up in Minneapolis? It seems to be a pretty mixed bag. Some fans acted like Harbaugh coming back (apparently against his will) was the absolutely best thing in the world. Others called him every name in the book when it looked like he was off to the NFL and now have to root for him again. And still others are just glad it's over and we can all start to focus on some of the things we'll actually see on the field next year.

Honestly, it doesn't really matter how it happened, as reports have surfaced that he didn't get an offer from the Minnesota Vikings and even Harbaugh himself told Mitch Albom that he and the Vikes couldn't get together. He's back and that's the focus now. And because once next season starts, and Michigan stacks up several what should be impressive wins out of the gates,  no one will care about how January felt. 

And so now it's about gearing up for spring football and prepping for a potentially very solid 2022 campaign. Harbaugh has to find a new defensive coordinator, recalibrate most of his defensive personnel and figure out who to start at quarterback. Those things are all way more fun to talk about than Harbaugh's desire to coach in the NFL. But that's always going to be a topic of discussion.

Or is it?

Harbaugh told Albom in very plain English that he will not look at the NFL ever again.

"There was a large pull there for the NFL," Harbaugh told Albom. "But I didn’t feel it was that way for both parties. And that’s it.

"I told Warde [Manuel], ‘From here on out, I’m working at the pleasure of the University of Michigan, because that’s, in my heart, where I want to be.' ”

Those are pretty strong words, but we'll see. Getting humbled can shut down interests in a hurry, but a steady stream of legitimate interest next offseason might bring those NFL urges to the surface again. After what we just watched for a month, it's really hard to say. But maybe that is it for Harbaugh and the NFL altogether. 

Either way, 2022 is a full go, we now know that. Spring football is right around the corner, a new defensive coordinator will be in town soon and Harbaugh can get back to doing what he really likes doing — coaching football. I maintain that the emotions surrounding this bizarre situation will fade away rather quickly because success should be at a surplus next year. Starting out 4-0 is a virtual guarantee with home games against Colorado State, Hawaii, UConn and Maryland on the schedule, and 6-0 is very possible with away games in Iowa City and Bloomington to follow the season-opening four-game home stand. After that, it'll be Penn State and Michigan State at home, followed by games at Rutgers and then at home against Nebraska and Illinois before the season finale in Columbus against Ohio State. Realistically, Michigan will probably be favored in 11 of 12 games.

So that's where we are — Harbaugh is back, Michigan should be pretty darn good on the field in 2022 and then we'll see if the NFL ship really has sailed away from Harbaugh for good. If it has, he's going to be around for quite a while and then the discussion can be about his overall tenure and legacy as Michigan's head coach. If it hasn't, goodness....it CANNOT play out like this again, can it?