Jim Harbaugh was never able to win the big one with the San Francisco 49ers, though he came agonizingly close in the 2012 season, and a reputation for coming up short on the grandest of stages has followed him throughout his career. 

Harbaugh finally got it done on Monday, however, the former Niners head coach getting over the hump by leading Michigan to National Championship glory with a 34-13 win over Washington.

The conversation after the victory quickly turned to talk of Harbaugh returning to the NFL, with several teams said to be gathering information on him, according to a report by NFL Media's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Harbaugh would not give anything away, though, responding to a question about a desire to win the Super Bowl: "I just want to enjoy this. I hope you can give me that. Can a guy have that? Does it always have to be what’s next? What’s the future? 

"Like I said the other day, yeah, I hope to have a future. Hope there’s a tomorrow. A day after tomorrow. A next week, a next month, a next year."

So, the 49ers could soon have Harbaugh as a rival for future Super Bowl titles in the future having gone so close to winning one with him in their 34-31 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl 47.

But, as is the case for Harbaugh, the 49ers' focus is on the now. The Niners are aiming to end their Super Bowl drought and will resume that quest next weekend in the Divisional Round, with their current head coach Kyle Shanahan looking to shake the image of being unable to win the big one after coming up short in the Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons as a coordinator and with the Niners in Super Bowl 54.

The 49ers are the favorites to get over the line this time around. If you believe in omens, Harbaugh's success could be a pretty strong one that this year will also be the one in which Shanahan and the Niners finally win the title.

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It’s something they’re used to.