Can Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh become Raiders’ HC next year after Josh McDaniels’ firing?

A Jim Harbaugh return to the NFL as a Head Coach cannot be ruled out.

Can Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh become Raiders’ HC next year after Josh McDaniels’ firing?

Mark Davis and Jim Harbaugh (via AP/ NBC Sports)

The Las Vegas Raiders mid-season coaching breakdown could possibly be the best thing to ever happen for Jim Harbaugh. The head coach of the Michigan Wolverines football program is currently serving a three-game suspension over his role in the sign-stealing scandal and probably even thinking about seriously returning to the NFL in a head coaching role.

Rumors about Jim Harbaugh wanting to return to the NFL as an HC have become an annual thing at this point but for some reason, the moment Josh McDaniels was fired, Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL seemed more realistic than ever. It was expected that the HC would return to the NFL in order to evade punishment and investigation from the NCAA but that was not the case.

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However, Harbaugh just did not want to get the job in those circumstances. As per Mike Jones of The Athletic, the Michigan Wolverines HC is interested in coaching in the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders happen to be on the list of teams he would be interested in coaching.

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Mark Davis would be open to the idea of Jim Harbaugh joining the Raiders

Jim Harbaugh had expressed interest to join the Las Vegas Raiders in previous years but at the moment, the interest was largely one-sided. This time, however, Mark Davis has his ears open as he appears to have run out of patience, he means business now and now more than ever wants coaches who can deliver instant results.

Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh (via AP)

While Antonio Pierce has gotten comfortable and led the Raiders to consecutive victories, Mark Davis could be skeptical about hiring a new coach this time as he has continued to hear it from fans and analysts for having fired Rich Bissacia, the interim HC appointed after Jon Gruden tendered his resignation in 2021.

However, this does not mean that Mark Davis would completely disregard Jim Harbaugh for having a shot at the Raiders HC role. Harbaugh has shown that he can turn the fates of teams around on multiple occasions. He is not an experiment but an individual with proven credentials.

For the first time, the idea of Jim Harbaugh making his return to the NFL as a head coach does not sound absurd or far-fetched. Remember, Harbaugh did win the NFL’s Coach of the Year award in 2011 after he led the San Francisco 49ers to a 13-3-0 season. While they lost the NFC Championship game that season, the next two years, the team went on to win two NFC Championship games and had one Super Bowl appearance in 2012.

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