It seemed like such an obvious move. The Chicago Bears were uncertain about the fate of Matt Eberflus entering the 2024 offseason. They were on the verge of appointing a new quarterback. Hiring a coach who could develop him made sense. It should be someone with experience who could also lead the team. The one name that stood out was Jim Harbaugh. After years as a quarterback for the Bears, he carved a path of continued success in coaching. Most recently, he won a national championship with Michigan before returning to the NFL. He was no stranger to turning around struggling former #1 picks, as Alex Smith can attest.

It just made sense. All the Bears had to do was make the call. Only it never happened. Harbaugh went to Los Angeles, where he took over the Chargers, and now he has them in the thick of the AFC playoff chase. People can’t understand why the Bears didn’t even think about it. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, it wouldn’t have mattered. He has it on record that Harbaugh would have avoided the job even if it was offered to him because of an ongoing cold relationship with Kevin Warren.

“I highly doubt Harbaugh would have been interested in working for the Bears after his time at Michigan. It has been widely reported that coaches in the Big Ten were not particularly happy with some of the moves Kevin Warren made while he was conference commissioner. Harbaugh found a landing spot with an established, elite quarterback, and that could be a real draw for coaches who have the latitude to choose their destination.

Warren upset Jim Harbaugh about the COVID situation.

Due to the pandemic, the former Big Ten commissioner planned to shut down the entire 2020 football season. Coaches and players were strongly against this and did not want to be robbed of a precious football year. It led to an often contentious stalemate. Ultimately, the two sides reached a deal and a shortened version of the season took place. How Michigan’s season went probably made it worse in Harbaugh’s eyes. They finished 2-4, the worst record he has ever had at the college level. It almost got him fired.

Knowing what kind of personality Jim Harbaugh has, he likely attributed the late start to the season and lack of time to adequately prepare as reasons for this. That undoubtedly traced back to Warren. Hopes of landing Harbaugh were likely dashed when the Bears hired him as team president. So before people start blaming Ryan Poles for not being more aggressive on that front, let’s be clear that he never had a chance anyway.