After defeating the Washington Huskies 34-13 in the College Football Playoff National Championship game Monday night (Jan. 8), University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh deflected questions about his possible return to the NFL. Instead, Harbaugh, a former Michigan quarterback and former professional head coach, celebrated the victory with his players and family members.
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Harbaugh, who served two separate three-game suspensions during the 2023 season, led the Wolverines to their first national championship since 1997. The 60-year-old outspoken Christian said afterward that his team “stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent.”
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Following Michigan’s win, Pastor Rick Warren posted congratulations to Harbaugh, calling him a “Purpose-Driven Coach.” Warren praised Harbaugh for flying to Los Angeles after Monday’s win “so that at 3:15 am this morning he was doing quarterback drills with Chargers Justin Herbert.”
One day after practice while playing for the Colts, #JimHarbaugh and I were talking about the future. He told me was a going to be a head coach after his playing career. He did it. And he just won a national championship! pic.twitter.com/WCeR4p3bvt
— Dr. Derwin L. Gray (@DerwinLGray) January 9, 2024
Pastor Derwin Gray, who played at Indianapolis with Harbaugh, posted, “One day after practice while playing for the Colts, #JimHarbaugh and I were talking about the future. He told me [he] was…going to be a head coach after his playing career. He did it. And he just won a national championship!”
Harbaugh, who also played pro football in San Diego, is rumored to be the top candidate for the vacancy with the (now Los Angeles) Chargers. Speculation about his future ramped up on Dec. 31, when news broke that he hired high-profile sports agent Don Yee.
But Harbaugh didn’t want to discuss his future Monday night. “I just want to enjoy this,” he told reporters after the game. “Does it always have to be what’s next?”
If Harbaugh returns to the pros next season, he’ll leave behind the allegations of illegal recruiting and sign-stealing at Michigan. Hoping to keep Harbaugh, the university reportedly offered him a contract extension worth $125 million over 10 years. The coach, who said he’s “very proud” to have led his alma mater to a championship, had promised players he’d get his first tattoo if they went undefeated.
This season, Michigan became the first football program at any level to win 1,000 games. When the Wolverines hit that milestone in November, offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was filling in for the suspended Harbaugh.
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Jim Harbaugh, the son of a championship-winning college football coach, said with Monday’s victory, now he can sit “at the big person’s table” in his family. His brother John Harbaugh won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013—and Jim was on the other sideline, with the San Francisco 49ers.
