Michigan loses Jim Harbaugh to NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is headed to the NFL.

After years of flirting with National Football League teams about a potential return to the league, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh with a national championship now in his pocket is set to return to the NFL.

On Wednesday evening, Harbaugh was officially named the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, a move that comes just a little over two weeks after the Michigan Wolverines won their first national championship since 1997.

Harbaugh previously coached in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 through 2014, collecting a 44-19-1 regular season record and one NFC Championship.

Famously, Harbaugh’s 49ers team in the 2012 season faced his older brother John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens team in Super Bowl XLVII. The elder Harbaugh and the Ravens would ultimately win the Super Bowl 34-31.

Harbaugh’s departure means that one of the country’s most desirable head coaching jobs is now open, which has already made an unforgettable offseason in college football all that much more memorable.

That being said, early reports are indicating that the Wolverines may not be looking too far for their next head coach, Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is the favorite to land the head coaching job according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. 

Other potential candidates for the job include Kansas’s Lance Leipold, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, and Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson according to Thamel.

Harbaugh leaves Michigan with an 86-25 record including a 37-3 record over the last three seasons with three College Football Playoffs appearances and one national championship.