Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh appears to be destined for a return to the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings are the most likely destination for Harbaugh (the Miami Dolphins are another potential landing spot).

If Harbaugh leaves the Wolverines for the NFL, it will put the program in a tough spot. There aren't many times a major college football program has to hire a head coach in February.

If Michigan ends up in that situation, it could be a tough task.

College football head coaches are putting the finishing touches on signing classes and prepping for spring practice. It's going to be tough to get a sitting head coach to take a job this late in the coaching cycle (especially since the NCAA transfer portal means a new coach risks losing key players from their new roster — it's the great unknown in college football in 2022).

Michigan's top candidates will likely be Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell or Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.

Fickell is an Ohio State guy through and through, so I don't think he takes the job. Campbell is big on loyalty and has turned down plenty of jobs in recent years. He will eventually leave Iowa State, but I'm not sure he'd leave this late in the cycle.

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule could be another top option for Michigan. And I think there's a decent chance he could end up being their guy. We already know Rhule wants the job. His days in Carolina are numbered and he knows it. So why not make an exit now instead of delaying the inevitable?

Rhule did a good job at Baylor and I think he could do a good job at Michigan (the guy just isn't an NFL coach). It's a hire that makes sense for both sides.

If Rhule ends up at Michigan, it will then mean the Panthers have to join the search for an NFL coach…after many talented coaches have already been hired.

Not ideal, right?

Typically the answer would be no. But this could be a situation where the Panthers fall face-first into a tremendous hire.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is still not a head coach, despite leading one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL over the last few years.

Bieniemy has received a litany of endorsements from players and coaches over the years. But for some reason, NFL front offices have continued to pass on a potentially great coach.

“It disappoints me that someone hasn’t hired him,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid last month.

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared similar sentiments last year.

"If you look at his track record and the way he's able to coach us, the way he's able to lead men — people say that, but to be able to lead a locker room of people from every different background, every different race and everything like that, and be able to be the leader of the locker room is a special talent," said Mahomes on the Dan Patrick Show last year. "It's a talent, and he's able to do that."

The men who play and coach the game view Bieniemy as someone who should absolutely be a head coach.

Owners, however, for some reason don't.

Who are you going to trust?

I think that's an easy answer.

The Panthers could luck into the best hire of the offseason if Rhule leaves and they choose to swipe Bieniemy from the Chiefs.

From there, all Carolina would need is a quarterback to run Bieniemy's offense.

And based on the way players feel about Bieniemy, I bet there's a few quarterbacks on the trade market who wouldn't mind coming to Charlotte to play for him.

Update (7:26 PM ET): 

It appears Harbaugh is staying at Michigan, so this scenario appears to be off the table.

Jim Harbaugh called Michigan to inform the school that, despite interviewing with the Vikings today, he will be returning to school for the 2022 season, sources tell ESPN. Michigan was, in the words of one source, “elated” to get Harbaugh’s decision.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2022

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