National insiders keep saying the Titans are climbing the list for John Harbaugh in crazy NFL head coach carousel

At this point… yes, John Harbaugh could seriously be the next head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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An official interview between John Harbaugh and the Tennessee Titans feels close to being announced.

We’re in week two of the craziest NFL coaching carousel in recent memory, where more than a quarter of the league is now hunting for the next leader of their program. And the belle of the ball is former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who is using his immense leverage to take his time in determining the perfect fit for his second chapter. He took the first weekend to regroup and evaluate the landscape, he held long phone call discussions with the majority of the teams who have openings, and now he’s preparing to sign up for a select few interviews.

As little nuggets of information on this fluid process trickle out, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the possibility that the Titans might get a real shot at landing him.

Overwhelming John Harbaugh smoke for Titans might be about to ignite

This is the closest you’ll ever catch me to being a full-fledged gossip blogger, so soak it all in. This soap opera that is the John Harbaugh sweepstakes calls for it. If you need to get up to speed on all that’s happened over wildcard weekend and into the beginning of this ensuing week, click here for a full timeline rundown.

The latest from the national insider social media sewers is a picture coming into focus on the teams Harbaugh is most interested in. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini posted Tuesday that the Giants, Falcons, and Titans are the teams he’s most interested in.

Around the same time, ESPN’s Peter Schrager took to The Pat McAfee Show to say that he thinks the Giants and Titans jobs are the favorite landing spots for Harbaugh. And longtime New York media man Ian O’Connor, well-known for his personal relationship with Harbaugh himself, has the Titans and Falcons tied just behind the Giants in his personal handicapping of the situation.

If Harbaugh interviews with just three teams and the Titans are one of them, there’s no denying how much closer to landing the top coach Tennessee is than most assumed they’d get. The combination of Cam Ward, Mike Borgonzi, and a treasure trove of roster-building resources might be enough to entice him after all.

Could all of this be a leverage play from Harbaugh? You’ve probably heard some cynical dismissal of this story because of that possibility by now, and it’s fair to consider. Perhaps he really is just working the threat of coming to Tennessee against the Giants, Falcons, or wherever it is he actually wants to go. If you ask me, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. I don’t think Harbaugh’s interest in Tennessee is all for show. I think he’s interested in seeing what becoming a Titan might mean, and at the very least, that interest can serve as leverage in a larger bidding war. But I’m no longer counting Tennessee out of winning that war.

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