Jim Harbaugh’s NCAA dustup fuels chatter of possible NFL return

Jim Harbaugh might want to keep an eye on the NFL head coaching hot-seat list.

Harbaugh’s apparent settlement talks with the NCAA broke down over the weekend, and is expected to avoid a suspension this season — but has a looming threat of NCAA sanctions coming from a hearing down the road.

Andy Staples of On3 Sports spoke with AP college football writer Ralph Russo on a recent episode of his On3 podcast, with the pair cutting to the chase of what this news might mean.

Russo noted the NCAA hearing is six-to-seven months away, and then it has to be processed.

“He could easily be the coach of the Raiders by the time this [is settled],” Russo said.

Staples was in agreement.

“Everything we’ve seen about this suggests [a possible NFL return] … He’s flirted with the NFL two seasons in a row. Clearly, that’s a challenge he would like to try again,” Staples said.

“This could be a very special (Michigan) team. Given how many NFL guys he thinks he has on this roster, this is probably his best shot at winning a national title in college.

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“Now, given what they’ve been doing, he could probably build something up like this again, but yeah, could he just say, ‘Look, I’m going to the NFL after this, and I’m not dealing with any of this crap.'”

Michigan opens the season at No. 2 overall in the AP poll and with the fourth-best national championship odds behind Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State.

Harbaugh, 59, coached the 49ers from 2011-14, reaching the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2012 season before losing to his older brother, John Harbaugh, who has been head coach of the Ravens since 2008.

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Harbaugh has been head coach of his alma mater at Michigan since 2015 and has beaten Ohio State and won the Big Ten in each of the past two seasons.

Before making the jump to the NFL with the 49ers, Harbaugh had a four-year run as the head coach at Stanford from 2007-10.