It took almost two and a half decades and head coach Jim Harbaugh at the helm for the Michigan Wolverines to clinch a national title. They did reach the playoffs the last two seasons, but fell short against Georgia in 2021 and TCU in 2022. This season’s championship also came in an overtime win in the Rose Bowl after a last-minute touchdown in the fourth quarter to even the score. So, it’s fair to say that the anticipation has been palpable, and a lot of NFL teams are already showing some level of interest in recruiting the team’s head coach.
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During ESPN’s recent ‘NFL Live’ show, analyst Dan Orlovsky bolstered Jim Harbaugh’s case as an NFL coach with data. He started by noting that the Wolverines’ head coach is the ‘best quarterback developer’ the league could go after. Orlovsky then brought up a few QBs like the Ravens’ Josh Johnson, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, and JJ McCarthy, who played under Harbaugh.
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While JJ McCarthy has already made a name for himself with back-to-back playoff appearances and now the national title, it’s worth noting that Jim Harbaugh took the 49ers unit to the Super Bowl with Colin Kaepernick. After his departure from the team, following a disagreement with the owners, Colin’s stats fell off the face of the earth. This is exactly why fans feel that Harbaugh could excel in the NFL and that QBs, such as Justin Herbert, would flourish under him.
Some of the fans took to the comments to voice their two cents as well. One of the fans wrote, “That dude took a team w/Kaepernick at QB to the Super Bowl and almost won. Give him someone who is actually good and he’ll wreck the league”
Another chimed in, “He got the most he could out of Colin.”
This fan remarked, “Facts because KAP didn’t do Jack after he left♂️”
This fan, however, has a different opinion: “He ruined Kap by forcing him to change his playstyle from mobile/off-platform QB to pocket QB, but that is DEFINITELY not a conversation y’all are ready to have ”
An NFL enthusiast by the name of Broady recently took to X (formerly Twitter) and noted that he sees reasoning in Orlovsky’s statement. The tweet read,
“I agree @danorlovsky7 after all, dude Took Colin Kaepernick to Super Bowl, he deserves some credit“
I agree @danorlovsky7 after all, dude Took Colin Kaepernick to Super Bowl, he deserves some credit pic.twitter.com/tv4V3zsVrL
— broady (@broadyboy101) January 10, 2024
It’s worth noting that Kaepernick only played two more seasons after Harbaugh left for Michigan. What could have been — is another question altogether, but the Michigan HC did leave his mark in his debut season with a 10-3 record and a win in the Citrus Bowl.
Did Kaepernick Fall Off After Jim Harbaugh?
After Harbaugh, Colin got to play only nine games in the 2015 season. While scoring 19 touchdowns in 16 games last season, it came down to only 6 in Harbaugh’s absence. His QBR rating also took a hit from last season’s 58.1 to 43.7. He picked up the pace in the next season and in 12 games; he went on to tally 2241 yards and 16 touchdowns. But his QBR remained a mere 49.2.
Could this be entirely because of Jim Harbaugh? Probably not. But Dan Orlovsky and many others are dubbing him a ‘QB Developer’ for a reason. In today’s day and age, Colin would struggle to make the top 15 list with the stats he pulled in 2015. However, under Harbaugh, it certainly could have been a different story. He did make a jump in touchdowns from only 10 to 21 in 2013. Could it not be the case if Harbaugh stuck around?
For now, it’s very unlikely that a team will be interested in Colin Kaepernick again. He has stayed off the gridiron for so long that it will be somewhat of a risk for a franchise to take him on. However, for Jim Harbaugh, there is more than one option.
After Black Monday, there is more than one opening around the league. Commanders coach Ron Rivera and Falcons coach Arthur Smith were the first ones to take the boot. Then it was Mike Vrabel, who is very likely to find a new home very, very soon. However, the top two teams that could eye the former 49ers HC are the Chargers and the Eagles. What do you think?
