The Jets are expected to fire Todd Bowles in less than a week, and they may well be going after an impact replacement in Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Responding to the Pro Football Talk report, Jets chairman Christopher Johnson denied the organization has any interest in Harbaugh (Twitter link). Johnson said Bowles is the team’s head coach. Although, this does not indicate Bowles will be the team’s head coach in 2019. PFT stands by its report connecting the Jets and Harbaugh (via Twitter).
If the Jets are able to pull off this coup, Mike Maccagnan would be on board, Florio notes. Of course, with the fourth-year GM’s job not exactly stable, he may not be in a position to provide strong resistance here. Frequent tension surfaced between Harbaugh and former 49ers GM Trent Baalke, and that divorce pushed that franchise into a rebuild.
While the Jets are denying this, doing so after Harbaugh said earlier this month he was staying at Michigan, there figures to be more news coming on this front. It’s possible the Jets looked into Harbaugh and learned he was not going to be available, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini tweets. Harbaugh has not addressed the Jets rumors.
Harbaugh led the 49ers to three straight NFC championship games in his first three years as their head coach. The Jets are reportedly willing to give him a raise from his $7MM Michigan salary, as he will almost certainly be the highest-profile name involved in this coaching search.
Whichever team hires him will have the best hire of the offseason and it won’t even be close. Proven winner everywhere he’s been.
Yup, there are 28 teams that should be going after Harbaugh hard (Excluding the Pats)
What about the other 3 teams
The other three teams know what he’s ever won at Michigan