John Harbaugh is back on the market looking for a new boo for the first time since 2008. 18 years since he last strutted his stuff. But apparently, he has not been shy about returning to the NFL coaching dating pool.
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Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens parted ways earlier this week, instantly making the Super Bowl champion head coach the most enticing candidate on the market, if not a Ben Johnson-type no-brainer for every team. And based on the latest reports, Harbaugh is exceedingly aware of how well-regarded he is.
And that’s especially true for the worst teams in the league—aka the ones with head coaching vacancies right now—most of whom have not seen a coach of Harbaugh’s caliber stroll their halls in years. However, some teams may start balking at his hefty asking price. Tony Grossi, an insider for the Cleveland Browns, a team that is certainly interested in Harbaugh, recently relayed Harbaugh’s wish list for his next head coaching job.
“Here’s what we’ve heard on Harbaugh’s prerequisites to even be interested in your job. $20 million a year? Not a problem. $10 million assistant coach budget? Not a problem. Total authority over the roster, and also would like to select his own guy to lean on, personnel guy.”
.@TonyGrossi has found out what John Harbaugh's requirements are to be interested in his next HC job:
– $20 million per year
– $10 million staff budget
– Total authority over the roster
– Would like to select his own GMWould you do this if you're the Browns? pic.twitter.com/fvswssVSjF
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) January 9, 2026
By personnel guy, Grossi is referring to the general manager. And according to Grossi, Harbaugh wants more authority over his new roster than he had even when he was in Baltimore. Which is a lot. That point seemed to be the one that the ESPN Cleveland hosts couldn’t quite wrap their heads around. And $20 million a year is no bargain either: it would tie Harbaugh with Andy Reid as the highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
Based on those pre-requisites, Grossi believes there are four teams that are going to be willing to sign Harbaugh and give him carte blanche. His own team is the last of those.
“It would be a total change in the structure here. I think there are four definite candidates for Harbaugh to end up with. Cleveland now is, I think fourth. Miami, the Giants, and Atlanta.”
Grossi and the ESPN hosts didn’t seem to like the idea of Harbaugh controlling the roster and even making draft day decisions. One would have to assume that there is similar reticence in those four front offices about the same thing.
John Harbaugh is making a bold move with this list of demands. Let’s see if it pays off for him.
