By Mark Wilson
December 17, 2014

Wow, Jim Harbaugh loses a game to Seattle and the good folks in Ann Arbor wonder why he’s not sitting at his Schembechler Hall desk the next day.

The 49ers finished their season two weeks early when they were officially knocked out of post-season contention on Sunday by the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks.

Amazingly, Harbaugh is still the head coach in San Francisco.

You’d think by Star Trek ways, Jimmy should have been BEAMED straight to Michigan.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pintrist and any other social media weapon was in full force on Tuesday with Harbaugh rumors left and right.

Jim is coming to Michigan.

It’s not a done deal yet.

Yes, done deal. Six years, $48-million.

No, not the right numbers.

He’s waiting to see what other NFL jobs open up.

His wife wants to stay on the left coast.

Harbaugh just a baby with Khloe Kardashian.

Uh, ok… the last one didn’t happen.

The other ones? All true.

First order of business was ruling out Les Miles.

Miles came forward and finally said, no; he’s not talked to interim Michigan AD Jim Hackett or anyone else in A-squared. He has no interest in Michigan because he is the high priest of Louisiana State University football.

Enough of Les.

He was never, ever, ever… getting back together.

Thanks, Taylor Swift.

When Gary Moeller imploded that fateful May 1995 Friday night at the old Excalibur Restaurant in Southfield and Lloyd Carr immediately became the interim head coach, Miles lost an internal struggle.

He bolted, or was exiled, to an OC job in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

C’mon. Les played for Bo, he coached under Bo, he met his wife in Ann Arbor; had kids there. No logic in the world suggests he head to Oklahoma State THAT FAST after Moeller was fired at Michigan.

Carr and Miles could have worked together. They did as assistant coaches.

No way was Les… going to work with Lloyd.

Hello, Stillwater.

Miles hasn’t been back since and the previous two opportunities to return proved fruitless.

Replacing Brady Hoke?

Not going to happen.

Even Carr twisted the knife a bit when he threw HIS support for Harbaugh as next coach.

The cut could be felt all the way to Baton Rouge.

A lot of peace pipes would have to be smoked before Les Miles would have even considered taking the Wolverines gig.

If I had a dime for every time I’ve had to tell that story, I would lead the league in dimes.

People can say whatever they want but for always I will believe the rift between Carr and Miles dug so deep as to not have reparation possibilities.

Harbaugh is a different tale.

Nearly 30 years ago, Jim left the campus in pursuit of his NFL quarterbacking dream.

THIRTY YEARS.

Well, 27 years to be exact.

A first round NFL draft pick of the Chicago Bears, Harbaugh played for Mike Ditka through 1992. When Ditka was fired, he played a year for Dave Wannstedt.

From 1994 through 1997, he was “Captain Comeback” in Indianapolis.

He spent 1998 with the Baltimore Ravens.

In 1999, Harbaugh QB’d the San Diego Chargers, returning to California where he finished high school at Palo Alto prep.

Two years in SD led to a quick appearance in Detroit.

Jim was on his last legs as an NFL signal caller and wound up in Marty Mornhinweg’s first camp as Lions’ head coach.

I saw him at the Silverdome and it was like old home week.

Covering him when he was the QB at Michigan, he used to watch our Lansing/Jackson station from his house near the U-of-M diag. He told me WE were the only TV station he got at the house.

“If you say bad stuff about me, I know where you are!” he said as a joke at one of the media day confabs at Michigan Stadium.

By 2001, he wasn’t much mellower.

Jim didn’t last long with the Lions. Right before the season began; Harbaugh was cut and replaced with Ty Detmer. Marty said he agonized over not keeping Harbaugh.

Watching Detmer… I can see why.

Undaunted, Jim grabbed his sack and flew down to Carolina.

The Panthers kept Jim as a backup. He dressed for six games but never saw the field in Charlotte or anywhere else.

Strangely, his final two NFL seasons BOTH resulted in terrible 1-and-15 campaigns.

Harbaugh was 38 years old and his playing days were over.

It didn’t take long for him to begin his coaching career.

In 2002, Jim was hired as QB coach for Bill Callahan in Oakland. He served in that capacity with the Raiders for two seasons and went to Super Bowl XXXVII; his first appearance in the championship.

Following a disastrous 4-and-12 the next season, Jim was broomed with Callahan and the entire staff. Al Davis gave NO weight to a Super Bowl appearance a year earlier.

Davis loved the quick hooks.

Nevertheless, Harbaugh had an SB on his resume along with a QB who won an MVP award. Rich Gannon was 2002 most valuable player under Jimmy’s tutelage.

It was good enough to get him his first head coaching gig.

Staying in California, Harbaugh spent three years at the University of San Diego.

The final two seasons produced 11-and-1 records for the Toreros.

By December 2006, Jim was on his way up the PCH (that would be your Pacific Coast Highway) to Stanford.

He was back in Palo Alto.

In 2010, Harbaugh directed the Cardinal to a 12-and-1 mark and victory in the Orange Bowl. Stanford finished number four in the nation.

The NFL called four days later.

On January 7th 2011, he was standing at a podium as the head coach of the 49ers.

He barely had to re-arrange his driving schedule since Palo Alto is about 21 miles from the San Francisco airport.

If you’re scoring at home, it means that the Harbaugh clan has lived in California for 12 straight years now.

It also means he has gone 27 years since saying adios to his corned beef sandwiches at Zingerman’s.

Great deli.

But, you’re not here for the food.

I recall Harbaugh saying that when he joined the Lions for that short camp experience in ’01, he drove up to Ann Arbor to take a look around. He might have even gone to Zingerman’s. It really is an awesome corned beef sandwich.

Not to forget but, Jim did spend time at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School before moving west when his father Jack took a coordinator job at the same Stanford.

Pioneer is right across from Michigan Stadium so it’s not tough visiting both schools in a few minutes.

There is no doubt he still has an affinity to his alma maters.

Some have said he’s been concerned with what has happened to football at Michigan.

Hell, this is a guy who once GUARANTEED victory over Ohio State and then MADE IT HAPPEN.

What older Wolverines’ fan can forget the Harbaugh guarantee in 1986?

To guarantee a win ON THE ROAD in Columbus was simply freakin’ NUTS.

Jim did it. Michigan won.

Instant legend!

Schembechler’s squad that year went 11-and-2 and despite the Rose Bowl loss, Harbaugh was named Big Ten Player of the Year. He was also third in the ’86 Heisman voting behind Miami’s Vinny Testaverde and Temple’s Paul Palmer.

Michigan peeps have had their eyes on Jimmy’s coaching career since he was helping out his father at Western Kentucky.

In the backs of their minds, they felt that maybe someday he could be a guy to run the show.

He could be a mini-Bo.

Harbaugh was only casually mentioned when Rich Rodriguez replaced Carr in 2008. It was even more casual when Hoke came in because Jim’s star was about to be formed with the 49ers.

To this day, there are those that believe Harbaugh wants a Super Bowl ring so badly, he would never return to the rigors of college coaching.

The NFL is easy in relation to college.

There is no recruiting, no compliance, no angry alumni, no meeting and greeting of consequence; not much other than coaching and media press conferences.

And PLEASE, don’t associate college recruiting with wooing NFL free agents.

There is NO comparison.

Begging a kid to pick your school over someone else’s can be a pressure cooker. It is constant and it can be very humbling.

Just ask all those that have sucked at it.

If/when Harbaugh takes this Michigan job, I don’t believe that will be an issue.

A consideration? Yes, but not an issue.

These days, universities have all sorts of people who help in recruiting, compliance, etc. Urban Meyer is not spending his days traveling around Ohio knocking on doors looking for his next defensive end.

Most times now, the recruits… come to you.

It’s why they invented basketball games.

Rumor has it that Harbaugh has a multi-year deal on the table for around $8-million per annum. It would put him right up there with Nick Saban at Alabama and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. He would be the highest paid dude in the game.

If James Joseph Harbaugh is coming back to Michigan, he’s going to be paid like royalty.

As much as Hackett implied that the “Michigan Man” directive was off the table after Bo first said that phrase 25 years ago, Harbaugh is an exception.

Jim is a “Michigan Man” for sure but as just explained, he hasn’t hung around Ann Arbor in nearly three decades.

A car ride from the Silverdome for a tour and sandwich doesn’t count.

If anyone OTHER than the former QB was coming, they could have been here by now.

Boston College’s Steve Addazio, Bama OC Lane Kiffin, Duke’s David Cutcliffe (which I don’t believe) and UCLA’s Jim Mora, Jr. have all been mentioned as serious Michigan candidates. Sean Peyton of the NFL’s Saints has also been bandied about.

I love using the word… bandied.

ANY of those press conferences would have happened by now if Harbaugh was off the table.

Oregon State got their guy. So did Nebraska. Those aren’t chump schools.

Wisconsin just intro’d Paul Chryst from Pitt to replace Gary Andersen who already fled to Corvallis.

There would no other reason for a hold up.

Hackett, new president Mark Schlissel and everyone else wearing maize and blue wants Harbaugh.

It’s basically… Harbaugh or BUST.

When Jim was asked about it last week during his 49ers press conference pre-Seattle, he looked like a deer in the headlights. He wanted no part of any conversation.

“I’m just concerned with the Seahawks,” he said

The question that followed got ZERO response.

Silence.

His old Michigan buddy Andy Moeller made some comment about, “the band getting back together.” A-Mo played with Harbaugh in the 80’s and is now the Cleveland Browns offensive line coach.

Oh man, I just realized that Moeller coaches the guys that were supposed to protect Johnny Manziel in his NFL starting debut at QB.

Maybe Moeller has bigger fish to fry.

All Harbaugh has to fry are his options.

Need BBQ sauce with that?

Eight million bucks seems to be the going rate. It’s what is available from his alma mater and what will probably be available from the Oakland Raiders.

8 million.

Per year.

Lots of years.

Stay across the bay or motor back to “the mitten.” Wait around to see what other NFL gigs open up or… head back to Hoover and State.

He ain’t retiring and remaining with San Fran doesn’t seem like a thing so there they are.

Life is GREAT… when you have options.

Every radio talk show host and sports columnist and blogger has his/her own opinions of what JJH should do.

When asked on a radio show WHO would be rolling out the footballs at spring practice in March, I said my gut tells me… Harbaugh.

I simply can’t see any more trees through the forest.

Obviously if Jim chooses to remain in the pro league, Michigan will have to bite it and find a coach.

If the love of your life decides you are NOT the one, you don’t have to remain alone the rest of your life. You go out, hold your head up and find someone else to date.

Wolverine Nation doesn’t want to date anyone else.

They want to “put a ring on it.”

So… we wait.

We wait for a decision, once and for all, by Jim Harbaugh.

It would appear this is Jim’s last foray in the Michigan job market.

What he decides will BE his future.

He turns 51 next Tuesday. A long term deal may not be his last but pretty close. It’s not that Michigan couldn’t still come later but pushing 60; he won’t be nearly as attractive.

Oh man, that sounded like the girlfriend analogy.

Didn’t mean it, believe me.

You ladies are hot no matter what age.

Just look at Jane Fonda in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO monolith, “The Newsroom.” Fonda looks smashing at age 77.

Football coaches don’t necessarily age as well and botox doesn’t help.

There’s no doubt this is a tough one.

With all those options, Michigan and the NFL, Harbaugh has some major thinking to do with his father, wife and other family members. It is a huge crossroad in his career. If things were hunky-dory in Frisco; this wouldn’t even be a thing.

But they aren’t. At least, so we imagine.

Harbaugh has gone from taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl to a season with no playoffs.

And now he is coveted like a boatload of bitcoins.

Yet, he’s worth much more.

I don’t envy the agony involved with making this choice. Once it’s made, he is locked down for the better part of a decade barring any unforeseen firing or rapid end of honeymoon.

A final consideration on the Michigan job is the prospect of failing.

Can Harbaugh handle failure?

What if he isn’t the next great coaching superstar in the Big Ten and he pulls an Alan Trammell?

It was a question the late, great Sparky Anderson supposedly asked his 20-year Detroit Tigers shortstop before Tram grabbed the Tigers’ managerial job in 2003.

As much as he thought he WOULDN’T fail, he came to grips with the off-chance.

ANYONE can handle success— it is how you handle failure that is most important.

Sure enough, Alan lost 300 games in three years and was given a pink slip.

Trammell handled it and bounced back just fine.

Somehow Harbaugh would have to come to grips like Trammell did.

Alan is even back with the Tigers assisting President/GM Dave Dombrowski.

The circle of life.

Nearly ten years after being bounced from the Tigers’ clubhouse, the former shortstop turned manager turned outcast returns to the club to try and help them win a World Series.

Harbaugh would be coming back to help Michigan return to national prominence and be a part of the college national championship playoff picture.

It’s a daunting task considering the state of college football right now.

Jim can handle it.

Does he WANT to handle it… is the question that sits there like Aunt Edna’s Christmas fruitcake just a week before the holiday.

He has 48-million reasons to say YES.

Take the job, Jim. We’ll go grab a corned beef sandwich