One week from now, the Chicago Bears will have likely fired Matt Nagy and will begin their search for their 17th head coach in franchise history.
There have been a number of names floated around as potential candidates for the Bears, including some offensive guys like Buffalo’s Brian Daboll, Tampa Bay’s Byron Leftwich and New England’s Josh McDaniels.
Even Justin Fields’ former college coach, Ryan Day, is someone who’s going to be a natural connection once the coaching search begins. But it sounds like another college coach could also be a serious option.
According to The Athletic‘s Bruce Feldman, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is considering a return to the NFL.
The Athletic is hearing rumblings, both from the NFL side and at Michigan, that Harbaugh might be tempted to leave the Wolverines to return to the NFL. “I think it’s real,” said one source this week when asked about the possibility of Harbaugh being interested in heading back to the NFL.
Harbaugh found plenty of success at the NFL level, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a 44-19-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance in his second season.
The Athletic pointed out that the Las Vegas Raiders could be an option, given Harbaugh started his coaching career with the Raiders. Although, to be fair, the Raiders are one of two teams currently with a head coaching vacancy, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bears are expected to join those ranks next Monday after the team inevitably parts ways with Nagy at season’s end. And The Athletic noted that, “The Bears might be another option.”
Chicago has been an obvious connection with Harbaugh given he played with the Bears from 1987-93. The Bears were also reportedly interested in him last season.
With just one week left in the regular season, this speculation will play itself sooner rather than later. As Chicago prepares for its head coaching search, Harbaugh could potentially be a target.
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