According to NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, Denver plans to interview Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh this week. However, the Broncos must not rush to hire him since he’s a tenuous candidate.
While Harbaugh did have a successful tenure when he was San Francisco’s HC from 2011-14—guiding the 49ers to a Super Bowl XLVII appearance—experts believe it didn’t tie to his knowledge or ability to scheme.
“He is not the sort of coach who is going to install schemes and tweak them to fit personnel or exploit opponents,” wrote Mike Sando of The Athletic. An unnamed former Harbaugh assistant told Sando, “he’s only as good as the assistants he hires.”
While finding the right staff isn’t impossible, it’s a challenge and backfires when it goes wrong. Additionally, some of Harbaugh’s picks may not be a great choice.
“Coaches and execs in the league think that Harbaugh might succeed in landing his former OC Greg Roman,” Sando wrote. Roman, who’s currently working under Harbaugh’s brother John in Baltimore, led an underwhelming offense this year.
Through 17 games, the Ravens rank 28th in passing offense. In 12 starts, quarterback Lamar Jackson had his lowest completion percentage (62.3) since his rookie year.
Despite Denver’s 5-12 record, it had a better passing offense than the Ravens, ranking 19th and outgaining them by 552 yards.
Although landing a name like Harbaugh is appealing to the Walton-Penner ownership group, who want to make a splash in Denver, it should steer clear of Harbaugh.
He’s not the football genius the Broncos and quarterback Russell Wilson need.
