With the regular season set to end this coming weekend, the rumors have started to fly like never before. Estimates are somewhere between 5-7 head coaching positions should become available by next week as NFL teams set about making changes. The Chicago Bears are going to be one of them. After four years it’s clear Matt Nagy hasn’t gotten the job done. It probably isn’t a coincidence that buzz surfaced about Jim Harbaugh considering an NFL return around the same time.
People have indicated for the past few years that it was only a matter of time before the Michigan head coach turned his eyes back to the pros. His success in San Francisco is impossible to ignore. It just felt like he was waiting for the right opportunity. According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, the man who broke the news this week, there is a feeling that he may never get a better chance to land a job he wants. And yes, the Bears are absolutely one of them.
He explained on the Rich Eisen Show.
Harbaugh’s connections to Chicago are easy. He was their 1st round pick in 1987 and quarterbacked for them until 1993. In that time he became an admirer of head coach Mike Ditka, somebody that helped him become a successful coach in his own right. It isn’t hard to imagine he would have a keen desire to get that coveted job. He more than most understands the sort of immortality that awaits a head coach that wins a Super Bowl for the Bears.
Word persists that the interest is indeed mutual. The McCaskey family are admirers of Harbaugh and do have at least some level of interest in him as a replacement for Nagy. How much exactly remains uncertain. One thing is clear. Don’t be shocked if an interview between the two sides happens at some point later this month.
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Jim Harbaugh scenario likely hinges on Bears GM situation
What clouds this entire situation is the uncertainty around Bears GM Ryan Pace. Some believe he is expected to return despite Nagy’s impending exit. Others feel he will ultimately be shown the door as well. Nobody can say what his fate will be at this point. If he stays, it becomes more difficult to envision Harbaugh as an option. After the experience he had in San Francisco, it feels unlikely the head coach would want to chain himself to a GM that already got two others fired.
The Jim Harbaugh scenario comes down to how much power he’ll desire in the organization. Being the head coach is one thing, but some believe he will also want a significant say over the 53-man roster. Something the Bears never do. Only Dave Wannstedt got that amount of power before and he lost it after a year. Either Harbaugh would have to be willing to give that demand up or the McCaskeys would have to want him enough to grant it.
Neither path seems likely.
Some continue to believe these rumors are nothing more than a leverage ploy by Harbaugh to get a better contract from Michigan. He took a pay cut after last season. However, Feldman indicated that at 58-years old the head coach realizes time is running out. He may never get a better chance to jump to the NFL for a job he covets. Chicago is absolutely one of them.
