Apparently Harbaugh balked at opportunity after Vikings didn’t match his enthusiasm?
It’s been a few days since Jim Harbaugh hopped a flight back to Minnesota much to the shock of Vikings fans after a courtship that seemed as if it was headed in one direction. The dust has settled and we’re starting to hear some thoughts about what might have happened that broke off the conversations between Minnesota and Harbaugh and sent him home without an offer to coach.
There are thoughts that there were leverage plays on both sides in the mix here. Harbaugh leveraging the University and the Vikings leveraging O’Connell. One such situation was outlined by Paul Allen on our podcast The State of Purple earlier this week.
Another theory though has come to light from the intrepid journalists coming out of the Michigan side of the conversation today.
Mitch Albom of The Detroit Free Press talked with Harbaugh about the situation for a story in which Jim shared that he had felt the tug back to the NFL after getting so close to winning a Super Bowl and leaving some unfinished business on the table. When the Vikings opportunity came up, and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gave him a call, he entertained the idea. But he said he needed “100 percent conviction” on the job, and wanted the Vikings to have 100 percent conviction on him as well.
When it started to become clear that the Vikings didn’t have that full 100 percent needed, he got a “sinking feeling”. At that moment, it appears that both sides came to the realization that this wasn’t going to work out.
Harbaugh went on to compliment the Minnesota Vikings saying they are a “first class organization” and “first class people” but just didn’t feel that it was a good fit.
So the Vikings have landed on their “top-choice”, Kevin O’Connell the current offensive coordinator for the NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams.
Aj Mansour is a member of The Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN and works for iHeartMedia and the Vikings Radio Network. He’s also a senior writer for VikingsTerritory.com. Be sure to follow him on social media for the latest Vikings news and big opinions – @AjKFAN
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