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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh appears to be returning as the Wolverines football coach in 2023 after spending some time last week meeting with Greg Penner, owner and CEO of the Denver Broncos, about their head coaching vacancy, per ESPN

Harbaugh has been tied to multiple NFL opportunities after leading Michigan to its second consecutive Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff appearance. He has a history of success in the NFL, including three playoff runs and a Super Bowl appearance in four years with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014. Harbaugh's first three 49ers seasons ended in the NFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl loss came in Super Bowl XLVII against his brother John and the Baltimore Ravens to conclude the 2012 season. That was the first Super Bowl in NFL history where the opposing head coaches were brothers. 

Jim Harbaugh as 49ers head coach (2011-14)

SeasonW-LResult

2011

13-3

L, NFC Championship Game

2012

11-4-1

L, Super Bowl XLVII

2013

12-4

L, NFC Championship Game  

2014

8-8

Missed playoffs

The 59-year-old's 44-19-1 record (.695 winning percentage) in those four 49ers seasons gives him the sixth-highest winning percentage of any head coach in NFL history among those who have coached at least 50 games. 

Highest win % by a head coach in NFL history (min. 50 games)

SeasonsCoachRecordWin Pct

1922-1927

Guy Chamberlin

58-16-7

.784

1969-1978

John Madden

103-32-7

.759

1959-1969

Vince Lombardi

96-34-6

.738

2019-2022

Matt LaFleur

47-19

.712

1966-1977

George Allen

116-47-5

.712

2011-2014

Jim Harbaugh

44-19-1

.695

* Pro Football Hall of Famer

Harbaugh has spent 15 seasons as a college football head coach with three schools: San Diego (2004-06), Stanford (2007-10), and Michigan (2015-22). He has spent his last eight seasons as the head coach of his alma mater,  Michigan, compiling a 74-25 record, good for a .747 winning percentage. Harbaugh's Wolverines and the back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs are the only teams to reach the College Football Playoffs in each of the last two seasons as Michigan won 25 of their 28 games in that span. Michigan went 13-1 in the 2022 season, setting the school record for the most wins in a season. However, Michigan did not win a CFP game in each of those runs, losing to eventual national champion Georgia in the 2021 season as well as losing to national runner-up TCU in the 2022 season.