‘Cheated So Much at Michigan,’ ‘Could Fix Arkansas’ — CFB World Has Mixed Reactions to Analyst Speculating on Jim Harbaugh’s Return to College

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The Los Angeles Chargers are 0-3, Jim Harbaugh is suddenly getting mentioned around the coaching carousel, and college football immediately remembered one small problem. His NCAA file is roughly the size of a phone book.

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wolken reported this week that Harbaugh’s name has surfaced on the fringe of college coaching conversations if his Chargers tenure ends. The idea is highly hypothetical. It still gave college football fans plenty to work with.

College Football Fans Joke About Jim Harbaugh’s Possible Return

Some people immediately went to the funniest destination possible.

“Michigan has a chance to do the funniest thing possible,”one fan wrote.

SEC Mike looked toward the SEC and Harbaugh’s lengthy NCAA punishment.

“Jim Harbaugh has a show cause through 2038. I think he could fix Arkansas by then, have the Razorbacks ready to compete in 2039,”SEC Mike wrote.

Harbaugh’s name entering the conversation makes some football sense. He won a national championship at Michigan, rebuilt Stanford, and took the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl. The Chargers’ 0-3 start has already createdhot-seat pressure around a coach who entered September with much different expectations.

PFN’s liveQB Impact rankings also show how ugly things have been in Los Angeles. Justin Herbert sits No. 33 with a 64.9 grade through three games, with 627 passing yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions.

The NCAA Part Makes a Comeback Pretty Complicated

The road back to a college sideline would come with serious restrictions.

Chris Vannini noted that Harbaugh faces consecutive NCAA show-cause orders tied to separate Michigan cases, with the later penalty running through 2038.

“Jim Harbaugh is one of the most penalized coaches in NCAA history; 14 years of show-cause, plus the one-year complete suspension, as Dan notes. Because he fled town, the NCAA did everything it could to make sure he can’t come back,”Vannini wrote.

The sign-stealing jokes arrived right on cue.

“Tough to coach when you don’t know the plays their running,”one fan wrote.

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Then came the bluntest reaction of the bunch.

“lmaooo he cheated so much at Michigan he ran to the NFL but yeah sure let’s sign up for it again,”another fan wrote.

The NCAA found Michigan committed violations involving an impermissible scouting scheme and found Harbaugh committed a Level I head-coach-responsibility violation stemming from violations within his program. Harbaugh disputed allegations against him during the NCAA investigations

That leaves college football with a very Harbaugh scenario. A national title coach could become available while carrying one of the strangest disciplinary files a coaching search could possibly inherit.

Arkansas in 2039 might be the cleanest option after all.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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