Vikings Are About To Get An Up Close ‘What If’ View Of Jim Harbaugh
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
He’s brash. He’s loud. He’s known to overstay his welcome and he’s just “too much” at times. He makes every family event feel like an eternity and, for the love of god, if I have to hear about Elon Musk and Dogecoin ONE MORE TIME. That’s my brother-in-law Greg. Greg’s unfortunate presence during the most recent holiday got me thinking about Jim Harbaugh and how he might be poised to eat the Vikings lunch. In fact, we may feel that sting sooner than expected.
I’d like to explore these potential depressing moments, because I’m a Vikings fan and if depression were a color, I’m fairly confident it would be purple.
How did we get here? In 2022 the Minnesota Vikings were coming off their second consecutive losing season, which concluded with the decision to start fresh with a human head coach versus the snapping turtle who had held the position for the previous eight seasons. Quickly rumors became a reality when sources confirmed that none other than University of Michigan’s reigning staring contest winner, Jim Harbaugh would be traveling to meet with ownership about the vacant Vikings HC position. There were two dominant camps of Vikings fans during this period. Those who thought, while not perfect, Harbaugh would bring a winning culture the Vikings had been sorely without for much of their 60 plus years of existence. Then there were those who felt as if Harbough’s “brand” of coaching would be too similar to the, recently departed, Rafeal, the least agreeable of the Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The latter train of thought seemingly prevailed as Harbaugh left Minnesota with no offer. Ultimately, the Vikings decided to hire YMCA lifeguard and Rams OC Kevin O’Connell as their new HC. O’Connell rewarded ownership with a 13-4 record in his inaugural season. Harbaugh returned to Michigan and rewarded them with a National Championship in 2023. It may be too early to quantify the ramifications of their choices, but we’re about to get up close and personal with door #1.
When could Hungry Hungry Harbaugh strike first? There’s been a lot of chatter about the Vikings attempting to trade up in the 2024 NFL Draft. The overall consensus seems to be that their most likely trade partner will be none other than the L.A. Chargers, who are now led by Mr. Harbaugh himself. This makes for a bit of an uncomfortable situation. The logical part of my brain tells me that was years ago and both sides are far past any bad blood or animosity. However, I also get the feeling that Jimmy remembers the time he lost a game of Monopoly to his six year old niece and still schemes about how he’s going to buy all four railroads while also going hard on those orange properties. PAY UP ALLISON! With this in mind, I could see Harbough trying to position himself to best to Vikings on draft day, either by demanding the house for the #5 spot in the draft, just to see the Vikings give up a mountain of capital to draft rec league superstar Drake Maye (Title with hyperlink to previous article on Maye). Yuck.
He could also price out the organization completely, forcing them to fall outside of the top 5. The Vikings would then have to sit and wait on the sidelines watching many, if not all of the top QB prospects come off the board. I’m not sure which scenario is worse.
The Good news? The Vikings don’t face the Chargers in 2024. Phew. If the Vikings were to face the Chargers this season, it would have to be in the Super Bowl, and respectfully, please no. The much more practical scenario is we all digest what could have been from a distance, at least for a year. Harbaugh likely has a vision for molding the Chargers into a perennial contender, which could easily take more than one season. However, I do believe Harbough will make the Chargers a better team almost immediately. Brandon Staley found so many creative ways to lose close games, I was convinced he was the new translator for the Dodgers. If Harbaugh continues where he left off in the NFL, he may have Vikings fans and ownership wishing for a do-over.
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