Antonio Pierce has done an excellent job as interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders with many calling for him to get the job permanently. But to this point, the Raiders have yet to commit to him, and perhaps that is because they have their eyes on another big name: University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh of course had great success as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and currently has Michigan in the College Football National Championship Game where they will face the University of Washington. There have long been rumors about when Harbaugh could make a return to the NFL, but nothing has done so just yet. But perhaps the Raiders is the situation he has been looking for.
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review, Harbaugh to the Raiders is ‘in play’ especially after the Michigan coach hired Don Yee as his new agent:
“The buzz of him being in play for the Raiders has been ongoing since Davis fired McDaniels on Halloween night, but it wasn’t clear how interested Harbaugh was in leaving Michigan for the NFL. The hiring of Yee changes all that, and as an NFL source with knowledge of the situation indicated Tuesday, Harbaugh to the Raiders is very much “in play”…
Harbaugh, whose wife is from Las Vegas, began his coaching career in 2002 as an assistant with the Raiders and spent two seasons in Oakland as the quarterbacks coach. In his short time with the Raiders, Harbaugh made quite an impression on Al Davis, the team’s longtime owner and Mark’s father.”
The name Don Yee might not ring bells to many, but he is a very powerful agent whose biggest client is Tom Brady. Brady is not only still in the process of trying to become a minority owner of the Raiders, but he also has a relationship with Harbaugh as both are Michigan alum. And as Bonsignore pointed out, Harbaugh has a history with the Raiders, and his wife being from Las Vegas, could also play a role as well.
Perhaps some of this could come down to the results of the National Championship as, if Harbaugh is successful in leading Michigan to victory, he will have accomplished everything he can at his alma mater and be ready to move on to the next challenge.
If the Raiders don’t go with Pierce then the franchise had better have a big-time alternative, and Jim Harbaugh undoubtedly qualifies as he has had great success at every stop of his coaching career.
