49ers news: No NFL return for Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh?

Those 49ers fans who still miss Jim Harbaugh probably aren’t going to see him return to the NFL coaching ranks soon, if ever.

There are plenty of “what could have been?” scenarios when thinking about the San Francisco 49ers and their former head coach, Jim Harbaugh, whose high-profile “mutual” parting of ways with the franchise in 2015 has still created ramifications that are felt to this day.

Harbaugh, of course, left the NFL ranks after a successful-but-brief tenure with the Niners, and his current job at the University of Michigan is probably about as cush and lucrative as possible.

But, being a head coach in the NFL once more is certainly attractive, right? One of only 32 jobs, unlike the college ranks.

And it’d be awesome to see Harbaugh coach off against his brother, John Harbaugh, of the Baltimore Ravens, too, although San Francisco fans probably won’t want to recall what happened that one time in February of 2013.

It doesn’t look, though, as if Jim Harbaugh will ever make his way back to NFL ranks.

The source? John Harbaugh.

49ers fans can be sad if Jim Harbaugh won’t return to NFL ranks

There’s that meme out there of Wolverine holding Jim Harbaugh’s photo wearing a 49ers cap. You’ve seen it.

There have also been rumblings about Harbaugh making a return to the NFL. The Denver Broncos, before onboarding Sean Payton, were looking at interviewing Harbaugh, according to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

However, interviews could have been used as leverage, and the former Niners head coach is likely to hang up his

cleats

khaki pants in Ann Arbor.

John Harbaugh said as much at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine when asked about his brother returning:

"He talked about, “Make no oath for the future.” I think he’s honest about that.That’s probably the difference with him and all these other guys who act like they’re not open about opportunities that come along. Jim is open about it. I think his players respect that, his coaches respect that. And he’s just an open book, man. He’s a fun guy to be around. I saw some of the Michigan guys here, [and] they just laugh about how fun it is to play there and what a good guy he is.So, I think he’s at Michigan for life, probably, but then again, maybe God’s got other plans. So, we’ll see."

Related Story: 49ers fans should be thrilled if Jim Harbaugh returns to NFL

Jim Harbaugh bounced around in various positions before landing at Michigan, of course, and his time before San Francisco included stops with the University of San Diego and then Stanford.

Michigan has been Harbaugh’s longest employer in a head-coaching role.

And, based on his brother’s analysis, it’ll probably stay that way for a while.