Report particulars name between Harbaugh and Vikings, plan transferring ahead
Jim Harbaugh and the Vikings had an “exploratory conversation” on Saturday afternoon about Minnesota’s head-coaching vacancy, according to a report from NFL.com.
The Vikings “plan to conduct in-person second interviews for their head coaching job this week with multiple candidates” while “continuing to explore the possibility of hiring Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh,” Tom Pelissero detailed Sunday morning.
Per the report, Minnesota asked and receiver permission from Michigan to speak with Harbaugh. The conversation was held to “gauge his interest,” and while no additional meetings are currently scheduled, “Harbaugh remains a candidate for the job.”
“It wouldn’t be surprising if the Vikings bring him to the facility this week,” Pelissero wrote.
On Saturday, ProFootballTalk was first to report that Harbaugh was interviewing with the Vikings. That news came a day after Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider confirmed that rumors of mutual interest between the Vikings and Harbaugh “have merit.”
Speculation about Harbaugh’s future has been rampant since the Michigan football team concluded its best season in a decade. The Wolverines went 12-2, beat Ohio State, won the Big Ten Championship and made their first-ever College Football Playoff.
Harbaugh, who is under contract with Michigan through the 2025 season, took a well-publicized pay cut as part of his incentive-store deal last January. While Harbaugh has publicly said he wasn’t bothered by the contract — “I’d do it for free,” he once said of his job— his name has been linked to several NFL vacancies in recent weeks.
The latest, and the one that now appears to have the most steam, is in Minnesota.
The Vikings fired coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman after Minnesota finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings’ new general manager, was on staff with the San Francisco 49ers during the end of Harbaugh’s tenure there.
Earlier this week, Adofo-Mensah explained how he’s approaching Minnesota’s coaching search.
“We’re going to dive into this head-coaching search and bring a partner to me and this organization that’s going to lead us to where we want to go,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’ve had some initial conversations, but those have just been initial; obviously, we’re going to dive more into it as the week goes on.”
The Vikings have not commented on the Harbaugh report, but the organization says it has interviewed Nathaniel Hackett, Dan Quinn, Kellan Moore, Jonathan Gannon and Todd Bowles for the role of head coach.
Sunday’s NFL.com report said the Vikings this week will conduct several second interviews with NFL coordinators “while continuing to explore the possibility of hiring Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.”
As always, stay tuned to The Michigan Insider for updates.
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