Jim Harbaugh has always considered the Super Bowl the greatest prize in football. But after leading his alma mater Michigan to the national title Monday night, Harbaugh said "that'll check the biggest box" of his coaching career.
"I can now sit at the big person's table in the family. They won't keep me over there at the little table anymore," Harbaugh said with a smile. "My dad, Jack Harbaugh, won a national championship and my brother won a Super Bowl. It's good to be at the big person's table from now on."
Jack Harbaugh led Western Kentucky to the FCS championship in 2002 and John Harbaugh led the Ravens to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, over Jim Harbaugh's 49ers. The younger Harbaugh has pined for another crack at the Super Bowl since, which is why he's pursued NFL head coaching gigs the past two offseasons despite his momentum at Michigan. It might be because of his momentum that he finally decides to leave.
Harbaugh, who turned 60 last month, has successfully restored Michigan to greatness. Would he like to resume his pursuit of the Super Bowl?
"I just want to enjoy this," Harbaugh said after Michigan beat Washington 34-14 to cap its perfect season. "I just want to enjoy this. I hope you give me that. Can a guy have that? Does it always have to be, what's next, what's the future? Like I said the other day, yeah, I hope to have a future. I hope there's a tomorrow, a day after tomorrow, a next week, a next month, a next year."
For now, the only item on Harbaugh's agenda is following through on a deal he made with his players. They did their part by going undefeated. Harbaugh has to do his by getting tattooed.
"I have no ink on my body, no tattoos anywhere. But I did say that to our players, that if we go 15-0, I'm getting a tattoo. It's 15-0. I'm going to put it on my shoulder," Harbaugh said, and probably his right shoulder because "I'm a right-handed quarterback."
Along with Michigan's final record, Harbaugh said the tattoo will feature a maize-and-blue block M because that "signifies a thousand in Roman numerals."
"Can't tell you what that means to us, too, that we reached a thousand wins this year," he said. "And where are we at now, a thousand-three, four? I lost count. 1,004. 1,004! Four. One of my favorite numbers."
Harbaugh, who wore No. 4 during his playing days at Michigan, has already been linked to a few head coaching vacancies in the NFL, the Chargers and Raiders included. He's also been suggested as a fit for the Bears, where he spent the first seven seasons of his playing career, should they move on from Matt Eberflus.
Meanwhile, Michigan has made Harbaugh a contract offer worth a reported $125 million over 10 years, which would increase his annual salary by almost $5 million and make him the highest-paid coach in college football. The new deal would also prevent Harbaugh from pursuing any NFL coaching jobs for next season.
"That's a decision for him," Michigan president Santa Ono said before Monday night's game, via The Detroit News. "As you know, we've made it very clear that we want him to stay and I very much hope (he does)."
We'll see where Harbaugh goes from here, and potential penalties from the NCAA amid an ongoing investigation into alleged violations within his program only muddy the picture. Harbaugh's ultimate destination may well be the NFL. His next stop, for now, is the tattoo parlor.