Done deal, in the bag, layup, can of corn—from all accounts, the Vikings’ job was Jim Harbaugh’s to lose. And then he lost it.
Harbaugh, in making the 600-mile trek from Ann Arbor to Minneapolis (about an hour and a half plane ride), considered Wednesday’s visit with team brass a mere formality, a coronation that would end with him as Vikings head coach. Most in sports media were working under the same assumption, ready to crown Harbaugh as Mike Zimmer’s inevitable replacement.
So what happened? Courtney Cronin of ESPN has a theory.
Did Harbaugh’s laissez-faire approach to Wednesday’s interview cost him an NFL head coaching job? Cronin’s report would suggest that’s certainly a possibility. One could easily imagine a scenario where the Vikings, put off by Harbaugh’s arrogance and sense of entitlement, pulled an audible, pivoting to Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell (who can’t officially be named head coach until after the Super Bowl) at the 11th hour.
It’s equally plausible that Harbaugh, perceived by many as a milk-obsessed weirdo who wears a mitt to Wrigley Field (even as an adult) while stirring the pot with bizarre theories about chickens being “nervous” and therefore untrustworthy, was never as high a priority for the Vikings as the media portrayed. Did Harbaugh, victim to his own bloated ego, turn Wednesday’s interview into something bigger than it was, mistaking what was only meant as a courtesy from an old friend (GM and fellow 49ers alum Kwesi Adofo-Mensah)? The optics of Harbaugh cutting the line in wake of Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit may also have played a role in the Vikings getting cold feet, though perhaps not, considering Minnesota would ultimately select another white candidate.
What we do know is that Harbaugh badly wanted to be the Vikings’ head coach, skipping arguably the biggest event on the college football calendar, National Signing Day, to interview for the job. Harbaugh admitted as much while on the recruiting trail this past month, relaying to five-star defensive back Will Johnson that his dream was still to win a Super Bowl (his brother, Ravens coach John Harbaugh, denied him that opportunity by beating Jim’s 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII). Whether Harbaugh overplayed his hand or the Vikings, upon further examination, simply saw O’Connell as a better organizational fit, he’ll be heading back to Michigan with his tail between his legs.
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