Even with Steve Wilks doing one heck of a job at the helm, the Carolina Panthers will be in the market for a head coach come season’s end. So, naturally, they’ll pretty much be connected to any interesting name that pops up from now until early January.
Well, an interesting name popped up on Sunday morning.
According to NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, teams have begun looking into University of Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh as a potential head-coaching candidate. The report reads:
“Sources say multiple NFL teams have been doing background work recently on Harbaugh, who led Michigan to the Big Ten championship and locked up a College Football Playoff bid with Saturday’s 43-22 win over Purdue.
“One NFL source plugged into the situation said they believe Harbaugh would consider a return to the NFL, and a source with another team that could be running a head-coaching search said they believe Harbaugh would discuss an opening if asked and weigh the right situation.”
Considering the Panthers are one of two teams (along with the Indianapolis Colts) that have an interim coach currently running their show, the “multiple NFL teams” part of that excerpt is especially intriguing. And whether or not Wilks continues to impress, you best believe owner David Tepper will do all the homework in eventually coming to a decision . . . especially after what happened with the last fella.