Big news Wednesday night as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Jim Harbaugh will not be the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
The report came after more than 24 hours of speculation from some Michigan insiders that Harbaugh was flying to Minnesota to interview with the Vikings on Wednesday, with the expectation that he would be signed as their head coach.
Instead, Schefter reports: “Jim Harbaugh called Michigan to inform the school that, despite interviewing with the Vikings today, he will be returning to school for the 2022 season, sources tell ESPN.”
Jim Harbaugh called Michigan to inform the school that, despite interviewing with the Vikings today, he will be returning to school for the 2022 season, sources tell ESPN. Michigan was, in the words of one source, “elated” to get Harbaugh’s decision.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2022
If accurate, the removal of Harbaugh from the list of candidates leaves Minnesota head coaching job to three others who all received second interviews: Giants defensive coordinator and associate head coach Patrick Graham, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell.
With Jim Harbaugh headed back to Michigan, per @AdamSchefter, the Vikings are down to Kevin O’Connell, Raheem Morris and Pat Graham as their head coaching finalists. Reminder: because the Rams are still playing, Minnesota can’t officially hire O’Connell or Morris til after SB.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) February 3, 2022
The Athletic’s Chad Graff reports that Harbaugh expressed a lot of interest during a Zoom call with the Vikings last weekend, only to “change his mind” on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/ChadGraff/status/1489034129433927680
This is a developing story.
