With a face-to-face meeting now set up for Wednesday, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh has a good chance at becoming the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
For fans of the Minnesota Vikings, the last few days have been a bit of a roller coaster, and a bunch of it has had to do with the possibility of Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh becoming the team’s new head coach.
This past weekend, the Vikings reportedly had a meeting with Harbaugh to discuss the team’s head coach opening, and now things seem to be picking up a little more steam.
On Monday, it was revealed that Harbaugh will be flying to Minnesota on Wednesday to have an in-person interview with the Vikings according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
Michigan’s head coach traveling on Wednesday to meet with an NFL team about a possible job is incredibly significant since Wednesday is also National Signing Day in the college football world. Harbaugh probably wouldn’t participate in an interview on this day if he had any intention of remaining the head coach at Michigan.
In addition to Harbaugh, Minnesota also has three other candidates in the mix for their head coach vacancy. However, Harbaugh should be the one who the Vikings select to be their franchise’s next head coach, and there are multiple reasons to explain why he should get the job.
Possibility for instant success
For the Vikings, the 2021 season isn’t going to be one that many look back on with fond memories. Minnesota finished the campaign with a disappointing 8-9 record and the team’s head coach and general manager were fired as a result.
With a new head coach and general manager coming in, most would typically expect the Vikings to be given a year or two to get things back on track to compete in the NFC once again. But if Minnesota hires Jim Harbaugh, this doesn’t have to be the case.
In 2010, the San Francisco 49ers finished with an underwhelming 6-10 record. Then in 2011, the 49ers hired Harbaugh as their head coach, and all he did was lead the team to a 13-3 record in his very first season with the franchise.
When looking at the Vikings’ current roster, the pieces are there to put together a similar turnaround that San Francisco experienced in 2011. Minnesota hiring Harbaugh as their next head coach would only make this possibility become more realistic.
Impressive past as an NFL head coach
We just mentioned how Jim Harbaugh was able to lead the 49ers to a 13-3 record during his very first season with the team, but that’s not all he was able to accomplish during his tenure in San Francisco.
In four seasons with Harbaugh as their head coach, the 49ers finished with at least 11 wins three times, they won the NFC West crown twice, they earned three straight appearances in the NFC Championship, and they played in the Super Bowl in 2012.
Harbaugh wasn’t a head coach for very long in San Francisco, but his teams were incredibly successful with him leading the way.
Getting to one conference championship is difficult enough for most NFL head coaches. Harbaugh was not only able to get the 49ers there in his very first season, but he also helped them reach the conference title game in his second and third years with the franchise.
He’s an offensive-minded coach
With Mike Zimmer as the Vikings’ head coach for the last eight seasons, the majority of the focus was placed on making sure the defense was able to perform at a high level.
Minnesota’s offense took a bit of a backseat during Zimmer’s tenure and this is something that likely prevented the team from accomplishing some of their biggest goals. If the Vikings hire Jim Harbaugh to be their next head coach, the offense will no longer be put on the backburner.
As a former quarterback that spent 14 seasons in the NFL, Harbaugh’s expertise is on the offensive side of the ball. So ignoring some of the needs and desires of what Minnesota’s offense might need to succeed would no longer happen with Harbaugh leading the way.
He would also have an actual relationship with the quarterback on his team, something Zimmer couldn’t say during his last few years with the Vikings.
Endless quarterback possibilities for 2022
No matter who becomes the next head coach of the Vikings, one of the first tasks to accomplish will be to figure out what to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins.
With only one year left on his current contract, Cousins has been included in several trade rumors ever since Minnesota’s 2021 season came to an end.
If the Vikings hire Jim Harbaugh to be their new head coach, would he want to keep Cousins as the team’s starting quarterback or would he want the franchise to move on from him?
During his time with the 49ers, Harbaugh was able to help the team get to three NFC Championships with Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick as his starting quarterbacks (not exactly two future Hall-of-Famers). So the veteran coach has already proven in the past that his teams don’t need a superstar signal-caller to lead them to success.
Whether Minnesota ends up rolling with Cousins for at least one more year or they look in a different direction for their 2022 starting quarterback, the team can have confidence in Harbaugh to point that signal-caller in the right direction.
He’s a player’s coach
For some reason, there seems to be this narrative going around that Jim Harbaugh is just another grumpy, old coach like Mike Zimmer. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
A quick Google search will help one realize that Harbaugh is adored by the majority of his current and former players.
Can he sometimes be brutally honest at times like Zimmer was during his tenure with the Vikings? Sure, but there’s a reason why guys like Frank Gore, Justin Smith, Alex Boone, Anquan Boldin, Colin Kaepernick, and Mike Iupati have all raved about the seasons they spent in San Francisco with Harbaugh as their head coach.
Minnesota needs someone who can come in and rebuild the culture that seemed to be a bit toxic near the end of Zimmer’s tenure with the team. Harbaugh is more than capable of being the guy who can bring an entire locker room together and get everyone on the same page.
He’s the best option available
On Monday, members of the Vikings’ ownership and front office traveled to Los Angeles to conduct second interviews with both Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
On Tuesday, Minnesota will hold a second interview at their facilities with New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Between these three candidates and Jim Harbaugh, Michigan’s current head coach is easily the best of the four people in contention to replace Mike Zimmer.
Two, O’Connell and Graham, have never been NFL head coaches, so there are plenty of concerns to have when it comes to their lack of experience.
Morris did spend three seasons as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011. However, he was never able to lead the Bucs to a playoff appearance, and Tampa only won 35 percent of their games with Morris as their head coach.
These three all have their positives too, which is why they are finalists to be the next Vikings head coach. But when it comes to figuring out which candidate has the best chance to succeed in Minnesota, Harbaugh is the easy choice.