Niners' Jim Harbaugh conflicted about NFL vs. Michigan
- College Football 24/7 writer
- Published: Dec. 20, 2014 at 03:06 p.m.
- Updated: Dec. 20, 2014 at 03:51 p.m.
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Rapoport also reported via Twitter that "people close to Harbaugh say he's conflicted about what to choose -- NFL or Michigan."
"He is conflicted about Michigan," Rapoport said Saturday on NFL Network's NFL Total Access. "He is a little surprised, talking to people close to him, about how hard the Maize and Blue have pulled at him. But he also knows he wants to be an NFL coach. He does not want to leave the area and the Oakland Raiders do seem to be the top suitor for him."
Rapoport reported via Twitter that Harbaugh "hasn't had any face-to-face talks with Michigan officials," with all interaction coming through intermediaries.
» Inside Slant: Michigan's offer to Harbaugh a sign of the times
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Harbaugh coached at FCS member San Diego from 2004-06, then moved on to Stanford from 2007-10 before being hired by the 49ers. While he was known as a good recruiter at Stanford and certainly would be able to use his NFL success as a huge selling point to prospects, the idea of having to recruit again might not appeal to Harbaugh. He has been dealing with players such as Frank Gore, Patrick Willis and Anquan Boldin, and the thought of basically begging 17- and 18-year-olds -- at its core, that's what recruiting is about -- to come play for him at Michigan conceivably could be seen as a negative.
As for who could replace Harbaugh in San Francisco, Rapoport said the top in-house candidate would be defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. He also said young offensive coordinators, such as Adam Gase (Denver Broncos) and Josh McDaniels (New England Patriots), could be considered; if the 49ers go that route, the new coach presumably would be tasked with getting quarterback Colin Kaepernick back on track.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
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