Feb. 2, 2022, will forever mark the end of one of the strangest mini-sagas in Minnesota Vikings history. In the days before the Vikings signaled they will hire Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, Vikings fans’ Twitter profile picks turned into a sea of weird, sometimes unsettling Jim Harbaugh memes. Minnesota’s top brass interviewed Harbaugh. But while the only content from those meetings comes from Twitter reports, one thing remains clear: The Vikings were not sold on Harbaugh.
When the news came back that Harbaugh was headed back to Ann Arbor without a contract, I think it’s safe to say everyone was shocked. Before Wednesday’s meeting, it appeared as though Harbaugh’s trip to Minnesota was a formality, when in fact, it was anything but.
The details of the interview may never come out, but the most ironic part about it all is the part Vikings’ minority owner Jim Stapleton may have played in the process. Per John U. Bacon, Stapleton, a University of Michigan alumnus, is one of Harbaugh’s biggest critics.
It’d be surprising to find out that a minority owner moved the needle that much during a franchise-altering decision. Nonetheless, the irony shouldn’t be lost upon anyone that Stapleton, a Michigan football fan, pushed back against Harbaugh as the Vikings’ next head coach — only to watch him continue to run the Wolverines out of the tunnel every Saturday.
The implications of this decision for Harbaugh’s career really cannot be understated. If he was going to make a return to the NFL, the Vikings job felt like it was custom built for the moment. Minnesota has a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball and a handful of impact players on defense.
Now that the Vikings took Harbaugh out of the consideration, though, it seems increasingly unlikely that Harbaugh would leave what he’s got at Michigan. There’s even the possibility that Harbaugh could see a raise after this most recent brush with the NFL. College coaching contracts are getting increasingly outlandish by the day, and Harbaugh could easily get another salary boost.
It’s a decision that may work out for Stapleton in the short term. Never will he have to waltz into U.S. Bank Stadium and lay eyes upon the extremely affordable khakis that Harbaugh eats, sleeps, and bathes in. But in the long-term, it could create nightmares.
Harbaugh is only 58 years old. Given his abundant energy, he probably has another 20 years of coaching in him. Had he become the Vikings’ head coach, the chance that he would have run the franchise for the next two decades is extremely slim. It’s not impossible, but extremely improbable considering coaches really don’t stay around that long in the NFL. Of active coaches, only Bill Belichick has been with his team for 20-plus years, and he’s the greatest coach of this century.
On the other hand, college football is a whole different ball game. Contracts are not only increasingly spendy, but their structure involves more long-term commitment.
Take current Michigan State coach Mel Tucker. In his second season leading the Spartans, he led the team to an 8-0 start, which earned him a 10-year, $95 million contract purely because of speculation that LSU may try to poach him.
If Harbaugh continues to beat Ohio State occasionally, he’ll get a Debo Sweeney-esque lifetime contract. That has been the single barometer that determines success at Michigan. If Harbaugh can establish that, Stapleton will be watching Harbaugh for the rest of his life.
That’s the most ironic part about this all. Stapleton has allegedly been a critic of Harbaugh all this time, yet bringing him into Minnesota could have been the one thing that ended Harbaugh’s time in Ann Arbor. He most definitely could have found success, but Harbaugh is a strong personality who rubs many people the wrong way. It was hard to see him lasting in Minnesota long-term.
There was a scenario where Harbaugh flourished in Minnesota. But there was also the potential for him to flounder. Now, though, he’ll be locked in with Michigan football. There’s no way Harbaugh pursues another NFL gig anytime soon, and with his success on the field and in recruiting, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him ride it out in the maize and blue.
It may not be what is catching headlines, but Stapleton’s disinterest in Harbaugh might be the funniest thing to take from the last week of Harbaugh mania in Minnesota. It’s not too often that the public gets to see the politics within an NFL front office, which makes the spectacle all the more interesting.
Stapleton may have dodged a bullet for now. But what about when Harbaugh gets a record-breaking contract years down the line?
Many Vikings fans wanted Harbaugh. For those who bought in, the disappointment is understandable. But all Vikings fans should be able to find solace in the fact that they aren’t in the same conundrum as the Michigan-Minnesota contingent.
So let’s pour a tall glass of whole milk as we bid adieu to what could have been.
