Given all the controversy surrounding Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, it’s hard not to wonder whether Jim Harbaugh wants to finally make a return to the NFL. This is especially the case if his undefeated Wolverines end up winning this season’s college football National Championship. While rumors about Harbaugh coming back to the pros usually percolate around this time every year (and amount to nothing), there seems to be actual fire to the smoke this time.

All signs might point to the Chicago Bears.

According to The Athletic’s Diana Russini, the Bears have had serious conversations about making a move on Harbaugh should they fire the incumbent Matt Eberflus. The Bears are currently 4-8 and would likely need a red-hot finish to the 2023 season — perhaps even an NFC playoff berth — for Eberflus to return. That doesn’t seem likely, making a head coach vacancy for the league’s charter franchise feel inevitable.

With everything the Bears have endured over the last decade, cycling through inept coach after coach, Harbaugh could be the stabilizer Chicago believes it needs to finally become a marquee team again.

Here’s the clip of Diana Russini linking Harbaugh to the #Bears

Going to be a roller coaster the rest of this season as Kevin Warren tries to decide the direction he wants to take this team in. pic.twitter.com/TC3E4mp1DH

— Nolan (@nolpup) November 30, 2023

Harbaugh’s potential NFL return with the Bears would make a lot of sense from a nostalgia perspective, too. (Note: Martellus Bennett undoubtedly has a finger on the pulse of this franchise.) Harbaugh played with the team for seven seasons from 1987 to 1993, acting as their primary starting quarterback for four of them. Returning to the Bears to rebuild them into a powerhouse would be a homecoming of sorts and, to some, would probably be one of Harbaugh’s dreams.

After all the hardship the woeful Bears have seen lately, bringing Harbaugh to team headquarters seems like a layup for an organization with minimal consistent leadership.