Report: Commanders Showing 'Significant Interest' in Hiring Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh

Michigan's Jim Harbaugh is one of the top names in the coaching carousel and the Washington Commanders are interested.

The Washington Commanders are likely going to be looking for a new coach in this year's cycle ... and they are being linked to one of the top people on the market.

According to Sportskeeda's Tony Pauline, the Commanders are showing "significant interest" in Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

"According to people from Harbaugh’s team, the appeals of the Commanders job are draft picks and projected salary-cap space," Pauline writes. "Going into the final week of the season, the Commanders have five selections in the top 100, including the second pick of the draft. The franchise is expected to be near the top of the league in salary-cap space moving towards the 2024 league year, with estimates of more than $78 million at its disposal to use in free agency."

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A case can certainly be made for staying at Michigan if you're Harbaugh, but from here, leaving Michigan on top and taking another crack at the NFL might be the best career move for Harbaugh. He's flirted with a return to the NFL the past two offseasons, and you only get so many chances to coach at the highest level in the sport. 

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What's likely happening now is that Harbaugh's agent is working back channels to try to figure out if teams like the Commanders and Chicago Bears view him as a serious candidate for the vacancies they are expected to have after the season. If interest is lukewarm for Harbaugh, of course he should take the extension from Michigan, which seemingly would only bar him from pursuing an NFL job this upcoming offseason, not for the entirety of the deal. But Harbaugh may be best served just playing things out and seeing if he gets an NFL offer this offseason. If not, it's hard to think Michigan won't still be willing to offer him the contract. 

The reality is that for as bad as things ended with Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers, he led them to three NFC Championship Games, an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII and a 49-22-1 record. His resume is too good not to get another shot in the NFL at some point.