Jim Harbaugh Headed To The NFL, Accepts Head Coach Job With 49ers

Jim Harbaugh has signed his contract as the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. According to reports he’ll receive a five-year deal worth $25 million. That’s a significant raise for him but below some of the $8 million per year reports we heard he would command.

The 49ers have scheduled a press conference for 6:30 p.m. (ET) where they’ll introduce Harbaugh.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Jim Harbaugh was expected to agree to a five year contract with the San Francisco 49ers as their next head coach. The news was surprising because many reports had indicated he was leaning toward staying at Stanford along with QB Andrew Luck. Shortly after Schefter’s report, the 49ers called a press conference for Friday afternoon.

That’s a pretty good indication the 49ers are going to announce Harbaugh as the next head coach.

Now that we know Jim Harbaugh will leave Stanford to coach the San Francisco 49ers next season, it’s time for the details of his contract. According to Adam Schefter, it is a five-year deal worth a total of $25 million.

What’s somewhat surprising about the contract is that earlier in the week, the Miami Dolphins were reportedly offering Harbaugh around $7 million per year. Although that deal may not have been for the same length as the 49ers offer. It’s also worth considering that Harbaugh wanted to stay in the Bay Area, where he has coached Stanford for the last several seasons.

The story of Jim Harbaugh may have come to a surprising conclussion. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Harbaugh is expected to agree to a five-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers. By many accounts as of Friday morning, Harbaugh was leaning toward staying at Stanford.

The 49ers fired Mike Singletary this season so Harbaugh assumes head coaching duties. The 49ers also named Trent Baalke as the GM, and may be in the market for a new quarterback, so we could see a significant change to the 49ers in just one year.

The Jim Harbaugh coaching search continues. Just two days ago, Harbaugh was talking with the 49ers, and then the Dolphins swooped in the next day and only to swoop back out and with Andrew Luck announcing he will stay at Stanford, the stage is set for Harbaugh to return to Stanford. Of course, that’s far from a done deal and if Harbaugh’s situation has taught us anything it’s not to assume.

From what we can tell, it’s come down to staying at Stanford or heading to the NFL, most likely with the 49ers. Aaron Wilson of National Football Post reports Stanford has increased their offer to Harbaugh and they appear to be the favorite.

The Jim Harbaugh sweepstakes apparently won’t include the Denver Broncos. Mike Klis of the Denver Post cites an NFL source reporting that the Broncos will not interview Harbaugh, despite some interest from new front office man John Elway. The Broncos talked about meeting with Harbaugh in Denver and when that couldn’t be arranged talked about setting up a trip to the Bay Area but nothing ever materialized.

Elway reportedly told Harbaugh earlier this week that he was interested but watched as Harbaugh went on to speak with the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins. Harbaugh isn’t believed to be nearing a deal with either team (and the Dolphins will keep Tony Sparano).

The Miami Dolphins have reportedly made a late run at Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, who met with the San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday. Despite that meeting, the Dolphins are apparently the front-runner at this point to land Harbaugh.

Team owner Steve Ross and GM Jeff Ireland made the trip to California to speak with Harbaugh and they’re reportedly willing to pay him over $7 million per year. That’s enough money to have reportedly made the 49ers back off at this point.

The San Francisco 49ers and Stanford Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh will meet at some point Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen. The meeting is set for “an undisclosed location away from the team’s training facility,” whatever that means.

Though they’ve been mentioned for several days now as candidates in the Harbaugh race, the Niners have suddenly emerged as the front-runners. According to Tuesday reports, the team solicited Harbaugh’s approval in selecting its next GM; hired Trent Baalke, one of Harbaugh’s thumbs-up’d choices; and are willing to offer the coach a role in the team’s personnel hierarchy.

San Francisco doesn’t have a general manager, but either Trent Baalke or Mike Lombardi is expected to take over the role. According to Tim Kawakami, Harbaugh has “signed off on” both potential GMs. Kawakami’s source concludes, based on this news and Harbaugh’s relationships with both GM candidates, that Harbaugh will be hired as Niners coach by Wednesday.

Kawakami reports Harbaugh will meet with the 49ers Tuesday night, and that a general manager will be hired the same night.

In case your suspicions are starting to raise themselves, the two Harbaughs are indeed brothers.

Meanwhile, the 49ers, who fired Mike Singletary last week, are also reportedly very interested in Harbaugh, even going so far as to already reach out to him, with Jay Glazer saying that he is “clearly their first choice.” Additionally, Jed York, the team president, has already said that “money is no object.”

And then there’s Michigan, Harbaugh’s alma mater, which is seemingly ready to make a change after a 15-22 record (and just 6-18 in the Big Ten) the past three seasons under Rich Rodriguez. And as the Detroit Free Press’ Michael Rosenberg points out, the NFL jobs come and go, but this could be Harbaugh’s only chance to takeover at Michigan.