We Finally Learned Why Jim Harbaugh To The Bears Didn’t Happen
It seemed like such an obvious move. The Chicago Bears were uncertain about the fate of Matt Eberflus going into the 2024 off-season. They were about to draft a new quarterback. Hiring a coach capable of developing him made sense. It would have to be somebody with experience who could also lead the team. The one name that stood out was Jim Harbaugh. After years as a Bears quarterback, he carved a path of constant success in coaching. Most recently, he won a national championship with Michigan before returning to the NFL. He wasn’t a stranger to turning around struggling former #1 picks, as Alex Smith can attest.
It just made sense. All the Bears had to do was make the call. Except it never happened. Harbaugh went to Los Angeles, where he took over the Chargers, and now he has them in the thick of the AFC playoff chase. People can’t understand why the Bears didn’t even consider it. Well, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, it wouldn’t have mattered. He has it on good authority that Harbaugh would’ve avoided the job even if it was offered because of a lingering cold relationship with Kevin Warren.
“I highly doubt Harbaugh would have been interested in working for the Bears after his time at Michigan. It has been widely reported that coaches throughout the Big Ten were not particularly happy with some of the moves Kevin Warren made when he was conference commissioner. Harbaugh found a landing spot with an established, elite quarterback, and that can be a real draw for coaches with the latitude to pick their destination.”
Warren angered Jim Harbaugh over the COVID situation.
Due to the pandemic, the former Big Ten commissioner intended to shut down the entire 2020 football season. Coaches and players were vehemently against this, not wanting to be robbed of a precious year of football. It led to an often contentious standoff. Eventually, the two sides worked out a deal, and a shortened version of the season took place. How Michigan’s season went probably made it worse in Harbaugh’s mind. They finished 2-4, the worst record he’s ever had at the college level. It almost got him fired.
Knowing the kind of personality Jim Harbaugh has, he probably attributed the late start to the season and lack of time to adequately prepare as reasons for this. No doubt that was traced back to Warren. The hopes of landing Harbaugh were likely destroyed once the Bears hired him as team president. So before people go blaming Ryan Poles for not being more aggressive on that front, let it be known he never had a shot anyway.