San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh walks off the field at the end of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, in Seattle. The Seahawks won 17-7. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

   

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Report: Michigan offers Jim Harbaugh $8 million per year

By Eric Branch-SF GATE/Tell Us SFO

SAN FRANCISCO (Tell Us SFO) - In early January 2011, Stanford was coming off an 11-1 season and quarterback Andrew Luck had just announced he would return to play for a third season.

With a potential national championship in Stanford’s near future, Jim Harbaugh was asked the obvious question at his introductory news conference as the 49ers’ head coach: Why leave the Cardinal for the NFL?

“I view it as a perfect opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “The perfect competitive platform with these pros, with the level playing field, the chance to be part of a team that goes after the highest award in all of sports. And that’s the Lombardi Trophy.”

Nearly four years later, the University of Michigan is willing to open its vault to see if Harbaugh will reconsider that stance. Michigan has offered Harbaugh a six-year, $48 million contract to replace recently fired Brady Hoke as its head coach, NFL Network reported Wednesday. The $8 million annual salary would make Harbaugh college football’s highest-paid head coach, ahead of Alabama’s Nick Saban ($7.16 million).

Harbaugh was a quarterback at Michigan from 1983 through ’86, and his dad, Jack, spent seven seasons (1973-79) as a Wolverines assistant under late coach Bo Schembechler, whom Harbaugh counts as one of his biggest influences.

Michigan pursued Harbaugh before he was hired by the 49ers in 2011 and he reportedly rebuffed his alma mater’s latest advances last week. In response to its $48 million offer, however, Harbaugh has not given Michigan a “definitive no,” NFL Network reported.
Last week, Harbaugh was asked about Michigan’s interest.

“As a principle,” he said, “I don’t talk about any other job other than the one that I have.”

Harbaugh isn’t expected to have his current job long after the regular season because of personality conflicts with the 49ers’ front office. The Raiders and Jets reportedly plan to explore trading for Harbaugh, who has one year remaining on his five-year, $25 million contract.

Harbaugh obviously has ties to Michigan, but he hasn’t left California in a 13-season coaching career that also has included stops with the Raiders, as an assistant, and the University of San Diego.

Could Michigan’s mammoth offer inspire him to leave the state — and exit the NFL without winning a Lombardi Trophy? In 2011, he said money wasn’t the primary factor in his decision after he turned down a more lucrative offer from the Dolphins to join the 49ers.

“I like a buck just like the next guy,” he said, “but I love coaching, and I love winning, and I love football.”

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch

 

 
   
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