Report: Jim Harbaugh wants back in the NFL and “he will flat go to Denver”

According to The Athletic’s Mike Sando in his Pick 6 piece, he has heard from people close to Jim Harbaugh that he just simply wants back in the NFL. One source also told him that Harbaugh, who will interview virtually for the Broncos job sometime this week will “flat go to Denver” if he is offered the job.

This was a former Jim Harbaugh associate who knows him well and backs up other rumors and reports we have heard recently about the Broncos and Harbaugh. There is a lot of smoke out there about these two, but we shall see where it goes. This person says that Harbaugh thought he was getting the Vikings job last year, but as we know, that ended up not happening. Now with some connections in Denver and a situation that fits him perfectly, we shall see if he ends up in the Mile High City.

“He will flat go to Denver,” a former Harbaugh associate predicted, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “He is not thinking about any of that stuff. He will just go take it, in my opinion. He thought he was going to get the Vikings job last year and it didn’t happen.”

Sando spoke with an assistant to Harbaugh who admires the Broncos coaching candidate and explained what makes him different from other coaches.

“He is worried about capturing an edge with the way you travel, having players over to his house, throwing and catching with his quarterbacks, all those things,” the former Harbaugh assistant said. “He is as good as his staff is, and guess what? He believes in them. He is counting on you. He has empowered you. He is intense. He is going into battle with you. He is leading the way. That is why he goes after Vic Fangio to be his defensive coordinator.”

As we know, Sean Payton would like to bring the Broncos' former Head Coach Vic Fangio with him if he lands a job, but so would Harbaugh. Remember, Fangio was Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator during the 49ers days, but also has a history with current Denver Broncos Ejiro Evero as well. If Harbaugh is this adamant about returning to the NFL, he may be okay just sticking with Evero who is popular among Broncos defensive players.

As for a potential offensive coordinator under Harbaugh, coaches and executives in the league believe Harbaugh may reunite with his former offensive coordinator with the 49ers, Greg Roman. He has been the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens under his brother John Harbaugh, and people believe he will allow him to leave as the Ravens would like to potentially change things up.

“Yeah, I think John (Harbaugh) would cooperate and Jim could get Greg Roman,” a former head coach said. “I think they are ready for Roman to leave. And then John will find out that he was pretty good. If you want to just run the ball, like I’m sure John wants to do, you can’t get a better guy.”

As we have seen recently, a run-heavy offense has seemed to benefit quarterback Russell Wilson these past two games under interim Head Coach, Jerry Rosburg. Harbaugh would put more of an emphasis on the offensive line, go more power, and likely improve the unit as a whole instantly. This is something that is desperately needed for the Broncos and could help get the most out of Wilson in the short term.

Harbaugh and former Saints Head Coach Sean Payton are the Broncos' top choices in their current coaching search. We have learned that 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans, Cowboys DC Dan Quinn, and Rams DC Raheem Morris are candidates the Broncos would also like to speak with, but they seem like backup options if they cannot get their top candidates at best.

I still think the job is Harbaugh’s if he truly wants it and it is sounding more and more like he does indeed want back in the NFL. So, we shall see how this plays out in the coming days and weeks.