University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has endured intense scrutiny in recent weeks because of the sign-stealing scandal that has engulfed his program. By season’s end, he will have served two three-game suspensions. The first was imposed by Michigan at the start of the season following alleged recruiting violations within the program, and the second by the Big Ten Conference last week in response to the current controversy.

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Could this entice Harbaugh, 59, to consider a return to the NFL as a head coach? There’s a belief in NFL circles that it might, almost two years after he met with the Minnesota Vikings about their opening that eventually went to Kevin O’Connell.

Harbaugh is among those expected to receive consideration in the next hiring cycle, according to a league source who has been briefed on discussions high-ranking NFL officials have had about potential head coach candidates. And two other league sources who regularly talk with teams about hiring and firing decisions said at least two teams — the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders — are believed to be among those that would appeal to Harbaugh. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity to talk freely about the situation.

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Last week, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season, saying Michigan was found to be in violation of its sportsmanship policy “for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.”

Michigan is 10-0 and ranked third, behind Georgia and Ohio State, in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. Harbaugh has denied knowing that former Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions coordinated the in-person scouting of opponents, which is against NCAA rules, and the coach has received continued public support from his university. That outward support has come despite a Wall Street Journal report that school officials recently rescinded a handsome contract extension offer for Harbaugh, who when asked about the report said: “I wouldn’t say that’s accurate, no.”

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Yet the question about a potential return to the NFL remains.

The Raiders already have a head coaching vacancy after firing Josh McDaniels on Nov. 1. Former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce is serving as interim head coach and is 2-0 so far. There’s no guarantee Pierce will parlay the interim job into a full-time position, however.

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Meanwhile, Matt Eberflus remains under contract with the Bears. But he faces an uncertain future given the team’s struggles at 3-7 and the lack of growth exhibited by franchise quarterback Justin Fields, who is expected to start Sunday versus the Detroit Lions after missing the past four games with a dislocated thumb.

Harbaugh’s pre-existing relationships with high-ranking members of both teams could make the head coach jobs there appealing.

Bears team president and CEO Kevin Warren knows Harbaugh from his former role as Big Ten commissioner. Harbaugh, a former quarterback, also played in Chicago for seven of his 14 NFL seasons after the Bears made him a first-round pick in 1987.

As for the Raiders, Harbaugh was the team’s quarterbacks coach from 2002 to 2003. He is friendly with team owner Mark Davis and Tom Brady, who is attempting to become a minority owner of the Raiders and who, like Harbaugh, also played quarterback for Michigan.

The Raiders, who also fired general manager Dave Ziegler last week, would seemingly also be able to offer Harbaugh the opportunity to provide input on personnel decisions.

Harbaugh coached the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014. He was the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2011 and advanced one season later to Super Bowl XLVII, where he lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens, coached by older brother John Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers mutually parted ways at the conclusion of the 2014 season after multiple clashes over personnel decisions, and Michigan named him its head football coach just two days later.

Since then, he has gone 84-25 in nine seasons, with back-to-back appearances in 2021 and 2022 in the College Football Playoff.

Harbaugh said in February 2022 the potential chance to chase another Super Bowl prompted him to interview with the Vikings, who never offered him a job. Later that month, Harbaugh and Michigan agreed to a new five-year, $36.7 million contract.

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“There was a pull to the NFL because I got that close to the Super Bowl,” Harbaugh said then, “but this was the time (to try and return). And this is the last time. Now let’s go chase college football’s greatest prize.”

Two years later, could his tone be changing?

(Photo: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)

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