Rumor Wars Begin with Familiar Face to Bears

Jim Harbaugh rumored to be interested in returning to the NFL, so is it possible the Bears could be a potential location?

USA Today

Jim Harbaugh came to the Bears from Michigan.

Is it possible he'll do it again, except this time as coach?

Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines finally got over the Ohio State hump this year and made it to the national semifinals before being overwhelmed by Georgia.

So it would seem he has the program poised for a long-term run at bigger things than the Buckeyes. Or is it now time to go? 

If he did, there had been rumors he might want to go to the Raiders, but a natural team for him to coach would be the Bears.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman said on Tuesday in a report that Harbaugh could really leave Michigan and return to the NFL.

"'I think it’s real,'" Feldman said one source told him this week when asking about the possibility of the NFL again for Harbaugh.

The Raiders job is one they mentioned because Harbaugh started coaching as an assistant there and knows owner Mark Davis well.

I'd take Harbaugh a heartbeat.

Knows the pressure of being a leader of a program like Michigan. ✅

Knows what it's like to be the Head Coach of a team that went to a Super Bowl. ✅

Knows how to groom a QB like Kaepernick. ✅

Knows what it's like to be QB of the Bears. ✅ https://t.co/R8Dg8TS2RJ

— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr23) November 27, 2021

However, the Raiders are on a three-game winning streak and can make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a win Sunday over the Chargers. That might mean the Raiders keep Rich Bisaccia as coach.

All Feldman said in his story regarding Chicago was "The Bears might be another option," but this wasn't something offered up as information from a source, only speculation.

Harbaugh had a base salary of $4 million last season, according to Feldman, but had been paid over $8 million in 2020. He also received bonuses for winning the Big Ten title and its east division but announced the bonus money would go to Michigan athletic employees who lost pay due to the pandemic.

Harbaugh always spoke with great reverence for the Bears organization, Virginia McCaskey and her family while a player in Chicago. He was their first-round draft pick in 1987, played from 1987 to 1993 for the Bears, and had the infamous "audible" incident with Ditka in 1992. 

Far more open to the idea of a "CEO" type head coach than I used to be. Chasing the next hot offensive play-caller still has the highest ceiling, but perhaps with a rookie contract Justin Fields you can go for a very high floor

Bears could do a lot worse than Jim Harbaugh

— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@SpielbergerBrad) January 4, 2022

Harbaugh called an audible in Minnesota territory with the Bears owning a 20-0 lead, then threw a pick-6.  A Ditka sideline rant ensued and the Bears went on to lose the game. Shortly after, with an aging defense and some injuries, the Bears went on a free fall and Ditka was fired by Michael McCaskey.

Harbaugh left the Bears after 1993 when it was apparent he wasn't the type of quarterback Dave Wannstedt wanted to run his offense, then finished his career first for four years in Indianapolis and then a year in Baltimore in 1998 before finally playing the 1999 and 2000 seasons in San Diego.

Harbaugh coached the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14, making it to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.

His 49ers teams went 44-19-1 in four years. He was 8-8 in 2014 and then went to Michigan after a season when he was at odds with 49ers ownership. The 49ers described as a mutual parting of the ways but Harbaugh described it more as a firing.

Former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was his defensive coordinator all four years, and then came to the Bears after Harbaugh left when he lost out to Jim Tomsula for the head coaching job.

Could a Michigan coach and quarterback co-exist with former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields?

The wild postseason is beginning a week early it seems in Chicago judging from the social media reaction.

A similar rumor popped up after the 2016 season when he'd only been in Michigan a few years, but the Bears job wasn't even open then as John Fox had one year left before he was fired.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven