Jim Harbaugh should be at the top of every NFL team’s list of coaching candidates

By last count, there are five head coach openings across the NFL. Depending on what the New England Patriots decide to do with Bill Belichick, that number could soon reach six.

If the Pats are smart, they’ll ensure it does. Because the hottest coaching candidate in a long time could be hitting the open market, and it won’t be the six-time Super Bowl champion coach they’ll be looking to replace.

After leading Michigan to its first national championship since 1996, Jim Harbaugh seems likely to bolt the college game for the pros. And when he does, every team in need of a coach should be banging down his door for an interview.

Harbaugh, 60, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he is a winner and his resume speaks for itself. He’s had success at literally every stop. Six 10-win seasons in nine years at Michigan, culminating in this year’s 15-0 record and national championship. He broke the single-season wins record at Stanford, going 12-1 his final year in 2010. And unlike so many “college coaches,” he can do it in the pros. Harbaugh went 44-19 in four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, reaching the playoffs three time and leading them to Super Bowl 47.

That’s before we get to how much his players and staff love him. As guilty as Michigan appeared to be in the sign-stealing scandal, the team rallied around Harbaugh’s three-game suspension and treated the coach like a martyr. Interim coach and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was in tears speaking about how much he loved Harbaugh after their first win without him. The entire team spoke glowingly of how they wanted to continue winning for him.

I witnessed it firsthand, after their second game without Harbaugh, when the perfect season nearly came to a disappointing end against Maryland. I thought the energy the team dedicated to the head coach was unsustainable, detrimental even. A potential distraction. I didn’t think his cause was worth putting so much passion behind. But to them it was. He was. And they kept winning. They won it all.

For years, it always seemed like Harbaugh was flirting with the idea of returning to the NFL. And he always had a team or two willing to entertain what was likely only a play for leverage in negotiations with Michigan. This time, though, the rumors feel real. The NCAA is breathing down his neck. College football is completely different than it was when he started. All signs point to now being the time he makes the jump. Any team even remotely unsure about their current head coach should be in hot pursuit.

Harbaugh has made every team he’s ever coached better.