Michigan ‘offer Jim Harbaugh a 10-year deal worth $125m that includes a clause where he can’t talk to NFL teams’ amid interest from the Chargers and Bears

Michigan is making a major effort to keep coach Jim Harbaugh, offering him a mammoth new contract with a special clause amid interest from NFL teams. 

Harbaugh has not coached in the NFL for nearly a decade and has ensured the Wolverines have been one of the most consistent teams in college football.

He is attracting interest from a number of franchises going into the offseason though as the NFL prepares for a huge head coaching turnover.

But Michigan, who are preparing for the College Football Playoff semifinal against Alabama in the Rose Bowl on January 1, will not let their head coach go without a fight.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Michigan have offered Harbaugh a 10-year deal worth $125million. 

That would make the 60-year-old, whose current deal runs until 2026, one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.

However, it also contains a clause that would prohibit Harbaugh from discussing or taking an NFL job throughout the 2024 season. That would be just a one-season stipulation.

It’s also claimed Michigan have left a shorter contract offer on the table worth around $11m-a-year.

The Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears and New England Patriots are thought to be possible landing spots for Harbaugh.

While he hasn’t left Michigan, he has entertained interest from the NFL in the past number of years. Most recently he interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos jobs.

But when those interviews failed to turn into a job offer, Harbaugh published a statement laced with irony in December 2022.

He said: ‘People that think we’ve done a good job and are pleased with the job that we’ve done here at Michigan, they’re going to be very happy to learn that we will be back enthusiastically coaching the Wolverines in 2023.

The Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears have been credited with interest in Harbaugh

‘And for those people that don’t approve of the job we’ve done or would rather see somebody else coaching here, I think they’ll be most likely disappointed to learn we’ll be back coaching the Wolverines and in 2023.’

Earlier this week the NCAA notified Michigan that they are charging Harbaugh with a Level I violation.

Harbaugh’s newest set of charges are for allegedly providing false or misleading information in an investigation into recruiting infractions during the COVID-19 dead period.

The formal notice of the allegations received by Michigan also outlined four Level II charges that included impermissible contact with recruits and analysts performing coaching duties.

The Big Ten already suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season for an unrelated matter, stemming from a sign-stealing scheme, that is still under investigation.

Michigan will now have 90 days to respond to the charges. The formal notice of the allegations is a precursor to a hearing that could occur during 2024.