As Colin Kaepernick continues his quest to return to the NFL for the first time since 2016, his biggest advocate remains his former head coach with the San Francisco 49ers, Jim Harbaugh.
Kaepernick was allowed to hold a throwing exhibition in front of some NFL scouts earlier this month at the halftime of the spring game for the University of Michigan, where Harbaugh is, of course, the head coach.
Still, there's little evidence that a return to the NFL for the first time in a half a decade is coming for Kaepernick. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said Monday that Harbaugh being hired as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings earlier this offseason would have been Kaepernick's only realistic path back into the league. Not only would Harbaugh have potentially given Kaepernick, now 34, a chance to play again, but he views him as a future coaching candidate:
"...The only chance would have been if Jim Harbaugh had become the head coach of the Vikings, because Harbaugh believes in him and he's told me in the past that you will win championships with an s with Colin Kaepernick. Now, that was five years ago, but you look at what he did for him recently at the Michigan spring game. I think Harbaugh would have given him a shot in Minnesota. And I reported a couple of weeks ago that actually when Harbaugh interviewed with the Vikings, Kaepernick was listed as a potential quarterbacks coach, if and when he's done with his playing career. That's what Harbaugh thinks about him as a football mind, who could help groom a young quarterback. So if Harbaugh ever gets back into the NFL, that may be the path for Kaepernick, either as a player or as an assistant coach."
Harbaugh ultimately wasn't selected as the next head coach of the Vikings, with the job instead going to Kevin O'Connell, the former offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.
Things worked out alright for Harbaugh, as the 58-year-old ultimately agreed to a five-year extension to remain the head coach at Michigan after failing to land the Vikings head coaching job. Harbaugh -- who has a 44-19-1 career record as an NFL head coach -- has since said that he's not going to pursue any NFL jobs moving forward.
If you take Harbaugh at his word, the chances of Kaepernick ever returning to the NFL in any form might be pretty close to zero.
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