With Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh set to interview with the Vikings on the same day as National Signing Day, one Michigan enrollee reportedly spoke with Harbaugh about the coach’s NFL prospects on Monday.
Will Johnson, a five-star defensive back from Grosse Pointe, Mich., has already enrolled at Michigan and begun winter conditioning. However, rumors are swirling about Harbaugh's future with the program.
Johnson's father, Dion, is a former defensive back at Michigan. He said Harbaugh told his son that the coach is leaning toward a return to the NFL if the right challenge arose.
“He told William he was definitely looking, and if an opportunity came up, he was probably going to take it,” Deon Johnson told The Detroit News. “[Harbaugh] told him he felt the team was gonna be good, they’re gonna win a lot of ballgames, they’re gonna do a lot of good things. But he wants to chase a Super Bowl. That’s one of the things on his list is to be a Super Bowl-winning coach.”
Harbaugh had previously conducted a video interview with the Vikings over the weekend before today's in-person interview. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reported Tuesday that Harbaugh went into today's interview still undecided on whether he would take the job, if offered.
Harbaugh just completed his seventh season in charge at Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship. Last season, Michigan became the first team to make the College Football Playoff after starting the season unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
While Michigan won't be active on National Signing Day after already completing its freshman class, the rumors appeared to have surprised some recruits—and their families.
“It’s very surprising because when you talk to these guys, you don’t sense they’re not happy,“ Deon Johnson said. “You just get the feeling they’re where they want to be. He was really excited about William coming. All he would talk about was William wearing the No. 4 jersey and couldn’t wait to see him out there in the No. 4 jersey.“
