Report: The Broncos have already reached out to Jim Harbaugh
Jan 1, 2023, 6:40 PM
The season isn’t even over yet, but the Broncos have already started working on finding their next head coach. Less than a week after firing Nathaniel Hackett, opening the door for the team to start talking to potential candidates, Pro Football Talk reported on Sunday that Denver had reached out to a big-name option.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Denver Broncos have reached out to Harbaugh to inform him that they have interest in talking to him about the vacancy that emerged six days ago, with the firing of first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Harbaugh’s season came to an end on New Year’s Eve, as Michigan was upset by TCU in the first semifinal game of the College Football Playoff. It’s the second-straight year that the head coach has led the Wolverines to that stage, only to be disappointed.
Harbaugh has been successful at every stop of his coaching career. He’s 74-25 at Michigan. He was 29-21 at Stanford. And he was 29-6 at San Diego, his first college stint.
The former NFL quarterback has also won at the pro level. During his four seasons with the 49ers, Harbaugh was 44-19-1. He led San Francisco to two NFC West titles, as well as an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII.
That type of track record would be attractive to the Broncos. Denver’s last three head coaches were all first-timers, inexperience that plagued Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio and Nathaniel Hackett.
Last February, Harbaugh agreed to a five-year, $36.5-million contract extension with Michigan. His buyout is $3 million. He could more than double his current salary if the Broncos made him the highest-paid coach in the NFL, which is currently Sean McVay at $15 million per season.
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