From Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper sniffing around to a fresh set of NCAA violations for the University of Michigan, it seems as if Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL is inching ever closer. And someone close to him believes if that is to happen, it’ll likely happen in Charlotte.
John U. Bacon, author of Overtime: Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Crossroads of College Football, joined The Fan Upstate’s Offsides With Marc Ryan earlier this week. When asked how he thinks Harbaugh would have his job preferences ranked, Bacon went with the following order:
- Carolina Panthers
- Indianapolis Colts
- Denver Broncos
Here’s what he said:
“I’d say the three—the sanest and the best opportunity—Jim would care about that. To get out of the hole as fast as possible, in two or three years, would be Carolina. And keep in mind also, who’s looking for coaches? Not the guys winning the Super Bowls. So, that’s never really an option. So, Carolina, Indianapolis, Denver—I’ve not yet heard of anybody else making a serious run at Jim outside of those three.”
Being that the Panthers already have a handful of building blocks at key positions—including left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, wide receiver DJ Moore, defensive end Brian Burns and cornerback Jaycee Horn—as well as some recouped draft capital, the next head coach will have a lot to work with. It also helps that they didn’t sink two firsts, two seconds and a five-year, $242 million contract into Russell Wilson.
While this could be just mere speculation to this point, Bacon isn’t exactly wrong. If Harbaugh is looking for the most microwave-ready situation, his best bet—of the current options—would certainly be the Panthers.
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