Ohio State Buckeyes

Urban Meyer vs Jim Harbaugh: Not 10 Year War But 2 Year Battle?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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It’s often discussed the rivalry between Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh could be something along the lines of Woody and Bo in their “Ten Year War”. Will it have been a two year skirmish instead?

I don’t ever remember coach Harbaugh saying he was coming back to Michigan to finish out his coaching career and then ride off into the sunset. After all, he is only 52 years old. Maybe he just wanted to return home to make the Wolverines relevant on the national scene again. Mission accomplished.

Last season Michigan was 10-3 and two of their losses were to highly ranked Michigan State and Ohio State. This year the Wolverines are 10-2 and narrowly missed the College Football Playoff. Jim Harbaugh has brought outstanding recruits into the program as well. Now, what if the NFL comes calling?

After all, Jim Harbaugh has been close to the “Brass Ring” as both a player and a coach. Don’t you think he wants one more shot at winning a Super Bowl. Once a man has experienced success in the NFL, it’s a feeling that’s hard to get out of his system.

Harbaugh quarterbacked the Indianapolis Colts to the AFC Championship Game in 1995. As head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, he led his teams to three consecutive NFC Championship Games and the 49ers played in Super Bowl XLVII. They lost 34-31 and that has to eat at him.

There are always a number of NFL teams in search of a head coach at the end of the season and they will consider a guy who has already had success in the league. These are teams and coaches that may be looking to part ways in 2017 according to ChatSports.com.

There are some intriguing teams on this list with quarterbacks that Jim Harbaugh may want to coach. Remember he is considered something of a quarterback guru?

The three signal callers who jump out at me are Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Christian Hackenberg (Jets) and Andrew Luck (Colts). Rodgers is a star in the league, Hackenberg had success in a pro-style offense at Penn State under Bill O’Brien and Jim Harbaugh coached Andrew Luck at Stanford University. If he wants to get back to the NFL, why not now?

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Even if coach Harbaugh doesn’t leave his alma mater this year, he still might not be there for more than another year or two. In his previous head coaching stints, he spent three seasons at the University of San Diego, and was at Stanford and San Francisco four years apiece.

The Urban Meyer-Jim Harbaugh situation does have the feel of a two-four year skirmish rather than a Ten Year War like Woody and Bo had. Harbaugh can go back to pursue his NFL dreams, and after the initial hard feelings by Wolverine fans diminish, he will be remembered as the favorite son who returned home and brought Michigan back to relevance.

You know it has to bother Jim Harbaugh that he was so close to winning a Super Bowl ring but was denied. At any family get together his own brother can show him how good it looks on his hand.

Remember when Jim lost by three points to the Baltimore Ravens, his brother John was their head coach. Do you really think that Jim Harbaugh is going to stay at Michigan for ten years before going back to the NFL to try to win his own ring?

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