Less than three weeks after leading Michigan to the College Football Playoff national championship, Jim Harbaugh has a new job.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Chargers officially announced that they are hiring Harbaugh, marking the former San Francisco 49ers head coach’s return to the NFL following nine seasons at his alma mater in Ann Arbor.
With that, one of the premier head coaching jobs in college football is now available. And in forecasting Harbaugh’s replacement, one sportsbook is offering odds on some surprising candidates.
While Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is a heavy favorite at -700 odds to replace Harbaugh, BetOnline.ag is also offering odds on several potential candidates. That includes former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, who amassed a 7-0 record against the Buckeyes’ top rival during his run in Columbus from 2012-2018.
At 100-1 odds, Meyer is one of the longest shots to become Michigan’s head coach, as the three-time national champion shares the same odds as current Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. The only “candidates” with longer odds that Meyer, Day and Carroll and Belichick are former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (200-1) and former Wolverines quarterback Tom Brady (250-1).
BetOnline’s full odds for Michigan’s next head coach are as follows:
- Sherrone Moore 1/7
- Lance Leipold 6/1
- Brian Kelly 7/1
- P.J. Fleck 10/1
- Jesse Minter 11/1
- Matt Campbell 12/1
- Chris Klieman 16/1
- Mike Hart 16/1
- Matt Rhule 20/1
- Dabo Swinney 25/1
- Lane Kiffin 25/1
- Mario Cristobal 28/1
- Billy Napier 33/1
- Eliah Drinkwitz 33/1
- James Franklin 33/1
- Luke Fickell 33/1
- Curt Cignetti 40/1
- Jimbo Fisher 40/1
- Kirby Smart 40/1
- Todd Monken 40/1
- Dan Lanning 50/1
- Mike Macdonald 50/1
- Dave Clawson 66/1
- Deion Sanders 66/1
- Marcus Freeman 66/1
- Pete Carroll 100/1
- Ryan Day 100/1
- Urban Meyer 100/1
- Bill Belichick 200/1
- Tom Brady 250/1
To put Moore’s odds in perspective, a bettor would need to risk $700 to earn a $100 profit on a successful bet on the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator becoming Michigan’s next head coach. Meanwhile, a successful $100 bet on Brady replacing Harbaugh on the sideline in Ann Arbor would return a $25,000 profit.
Moore’s -700 suggest an implied 87.5 percent likelihood of him getting the gig. In other words, it would be a major shock if anyone else — let alone Brady — wound up becoming Harbaugh’s successor following his return to the NFL.