Jim Harbaugh

Reports: Jim Harbaugh Interviews For Vikings' Head Coaching Job

Harbaugh last coached in the NFL with the 49ers in 2014

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Could Jim Harbaugh be on his way back to the NFL?

The Michigan Wolverines head coach interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings for their vacant head coaching position on Saturday, according to multiple reports. 

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio first reported the news of the meeting between Harbaugh and the Vikings.

Michigan was informed by Harbaugh of the interview, per The Detroit News’ Angelique Chengelis.

Harbaugh, 58, has a connection to recently-hired Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, as the two had overlapping tenures with the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh was the 49ers’ head coach from 2011-14, going 44-19-1 with three NFC title game appearances and one Super Bowl appearance, while Adofo-Mensah worked in the team’s front office from 2013-19.

Harbaugh, a Michigan alum, has spent the last seven seasons in Ann Arbor. He was named AP Coach of the Year in 2021 after the Wolverines beat Ohio State for the first time in 10 years, took down Iowa in the Big Ten championship game and made their first-ever College Football Playoff. Michigan finished 12-2 after falling to the eventual-champion Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl.

But rumors of Harbaugh’s potential return to the NFL have been circulating for several weeks.

He had been linked to the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders’ jobs, but the Vikings were his first interview of the hiring cycle. The Bears hired Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus as their new head coach earlier this week, while the Raiders appear to be zeroing in on New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their opening.

The Vikings fired former head coach Mike Zimmer and former general manager Rick Spielman earlier this month. Minnesota went 8-9 in 2021, missing the playoffs for a second straight season.

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