I think I've found the through line to make sense of Jim Harbaugh's comments in regards to his interest in the NFL: there is none.
Last year, Jim Harbaugh seriously pursued the Minnesota Vikings job, appeared for a few hours to have the job, only for the Vikings to change their mind at the last minute. When the job fell through, Harbaugh, by his own account, told Michigan AD Warde Manuel he would not purse another NFL job.
“I called Warde and I asked him if he wanted me to be the head coach. And he said, ‘Yes, 100 percent.’ And I said, OK then. That’s what I want to do,'" he told the Detroit Free Press last February. “And I told him, ‘Warde, this will not be a reoccurring theme every year. This was a one time thing."
And then in December, Harbaugh affirmed he was no longer interested in the NFL.
"There was a pull to the NFL because I got that close to the Super Bowl, but this was the time (to try and return.) And this is the last time," he said. "Now let's go chase college football's greatest prize."
Spoiler alert: that wasn't the last time.
Harbaugh interviewed with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, while bizarrely commenting on his status with Michigan along the way.
Finally, on Jan. 16, Michigan president Santa Ono announced Harbaugh will return for a ninth season in 2023. That came with its own micro-drama, with Manuel conspicuously absent from both Ono's and Harbaugh's statements, but all's well that ended well. All NFL jobs are now filled, so Harbaugh couldn't leave at this point even if he wanted to.
That brings us to Thursday, when Harbaugh said this: "I’m here as long as Michigan wants me here. You would have had a story if I wasn’t here. But I’m here, and this is where I wanted to be.”
At this point, I genuinely believe Harbaugh in that he believes the NFL drama is over. But there will be openings in January 2024, and Harbaugh's 2023 Michigan team could very well be his best and, well, does anyone really believe we're done here?
In fairness to Coach Khaki, he's applying the same policy to himself he uses for everyone under him within the organization.
“Like we’ve said, it’s an ongoing thing, something we treat as a really positive thing that NFL franchises and teams have a lot of interest in all of our personnel — coaches, players, and staff,” Harbaugh told The Wolverine. “And if someone in our organization feels like that’s going to benefit them professionally and personally, then we say, ‘have at it.’ We don’t hold anybody back.
“I can’t even tell you all the ones. Calls come in … calls are taken. Those conversations are had. There are a few coaches on our staff those calls came in and they decided to stay here at Michigan. I’m one of them. There’s another. People do what they think is best for them professionally and personally."
Harbaugh went on to mention his support for defensive coordinator Jesse Minter's pursuit of the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator job.
The difference between Harbaugh and Minter, though, is that Minter's not the head of the organization, and Minter hadn't twice publicly sworn off NFL interest after years of pursuit.
That distinction is likely lost on Harbaugh, and in the end it doesn't really matter. The NFL will come calling in 2024, Harbaugh will be flattered by the pursuit, and we'll all be back here a year from now.