John Harbaugh Rumored As Candidate to be USC Coach

Raven’s head coach John Harbaugh is “high on the short list” to be the next USC coach, according to Dan Patrick on his show Thursday morning.

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“John Harbaugh’s name, from what I’m told, is high on the short list,” Patrick said in the third hour of his radio-TV broadcast on NBC Sports.

Harbaugh was linked to the USC job last time the Trojans were in the market for a head coach in 2013. Patrick indicated that USC indeed approached Harbaugh at that time. but he ultimately remained with the Ravens as Pat Haden turned his focus to Steve Sarkisian.

Now that Sarkisian has been removed as the head coach, the job in Los Angeles is once again open and once again the Harbaugh links have emerged.

The Super Bowl-winner has been with the Ravens since 2008. In that time he has led Baltimore to a 73-41 record, with playoff appearances in all but one season. However, his team has struggled so far in 2015 with a 1-4 mark.

He has no head coaching experience at the college level but he was an assistant at the University of Cincinnati before making his move to the pros in 1998.

Of course, USC fans are very familiar with his brother, Jim, who used to coach at Stanford and is now in charge of the Michigan Wolverines.

Harbaugh would certainly represent a marquee hire for the Trojans, who seem set to buck the trend of pulling in ex-USC assistants. With Harbaugh’s position in Baltimore looking just a tad shaky, this could be the opportunity to entice a proven NFL winner to take control of college football’s top NFL factory.

Earlier Thursday, fellow NFL head coach Chip Kelly denied any contact with the Trojans or any college, while Jack Del Rio was the first to laugh off a link on Tuesday.

At the college level, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy has stated that he has no interest in the job while Houston’s Tom Herman did not deny interest, but claimed his focus remains on the Cougars’ next opponent.

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