Jim Harbaugh has been Michigan’s football coach for approximately five minutes, but people already are talking about his next destination as if his alma mater is merely a pit stop on his road back to the NFL.
“I pride myself on seeing things before others see it, and I’m telling you right now, he is going to break Michigan’s heart,” Stugotz said. “I’m telling you, Chuck Pagano is out at Indianapolis. There is no way Jim Harbaugh is going to pass up the chance to, a.) get back in the NFL, and b.) coach Andrew Luck in the NFL.“Jim Harbaugh, next season, will be the Colts’ head coach.”
This somehow makes a certain amount of sense yet is entirely silly at the same time. Harbaugh was the Colts’ starting quarterback for four seasons in the mid-1990s and led them to the AFC championship game after the 1995 regular season. Plus, he coached Luck at Stanford. Plus, it seems likely Pagano and the Colts are going to break up, barring a sudden reversal of fortune.
On the other hand, the thought of Harbaugh leaving Michigan — again, it’s his alma mater, and he’s attacking the job with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind — after a cup of coffee is just kind of absurd.
And about his desire to coach Luck again:
Re: The HarbaughColts rumor: It's always been my sense that Harbaugh and Luck do not have a warm, fuzzy relationship from time at Stanford.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) September 25, 2015
Kravitz, a longtime columnist at the Indianapolis Star who recently moved over to the TV side of things, would probably have a good grasp of the situation. Still, Stugotz isn’t the only one beating the Harbaugh-to-the-Colts horse. Here’s Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio’s tweet from Monday night, when the Colts were getting pantsed by the Jets.
Is there a dollar figure for which Jim Harbaugh would leave Michigan for the Colts after one year, and would Jim Irsay offer it?
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 22, 2015