Are Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh twins? Michigan HC's family tree explored
John and Jim Harbaugh are the only brothers who have made it to the NFL as head coaches. At 61, John Harbaugh is a Super Bowl-winning coach, having won the 2012 edition of the game coaching the Joe Flacco-led Baltimore Ravens. The most interesting fact about the game is that Jim Harbaugh was the coach of the opposing team, the San Francisco 49ers.
Jim Harbaugh, who is 59, is nowadays better known for his role as the Michigan Wolverines coach, a position he has held since 2015. He has led the Wolverines to two College Football Playoffs and has them No. 2 in the nation midway through the 2023 season.
Are Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh Twins?
Although they are brothers, Jim and John Harbaugh are NOT twins. The brothers were born in the Midwest in Toledo, Ohio. At the time, their father, Jack Harbaugh, was the assistant head coach at the local Perrysburg High School.
Jack had a long coaching career in college football, being part of the coaching staff of schools like Iowa, Michigan and Stanford during a 44-year career. He only had two head coaching gigs in his career, first at Western Michigan from 1982 until 1986 and then with Western Kentucky from 1989 until 2002.
John Harbaugh's coaching career
John started his career in coaching in 1984 as the running back and outside linebackers coach for Western Kentucky under his father. Between 1987 and 1997, he had coaching roles at Pitt, Morehead State, Cincinnati and Indiana.
After a season as the Indiana Hoosiers special teams coordinator, he made the jump in 1998 to the NFL. His first job on the pro side was as a special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998 until 2006. In 2007, he was their defensive backs coach.
In 2008, John was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as their head coach. With them came the highlight of his career, as he led them to be Super Bowl champions in 2012. He has an NFL record of 150-96.
Jim Harbaugh's coaching career
Jim Harbaugh had quite a playing career before going into the coaching side of things. The highlight of his playing career was leading the Indianapolis Colts to the AFC championship game in 1995 and winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year that same season.
In 2002, he started coaching as the Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach. In 2004, Jim jumped into college football for his first gig as a head coach with San Diego. He brought them three winning seasons, with an overall record of 29-6, two conference titles and a Gridiron Classic win in 2006.
From there, he went to Stanford, where he had a mixed record of 28-21. This record was divided into two winning seasons (2009, 2010) and two losing ones (2008, 2007).
The best year of the period was the 2010 season when, with the help of Andrew Luck at quarterback, the Stanford Cardinal achieved a 12-1 record and won the Orange Bowl. They ended the season at No. 4 in the AP poll, their highest ranking ever to the end of a season at that point.
From 2011 until 2014, Jim Harbaugh was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He had a 44-19 record and made the postseason in three out of four seasons. They made the NFC Championship Game twice and the Super Bowl once.
His only non-winning season was the 8-8 in 2014. According to the team, the decision to part ways was a mutual agreement, while Jim Harbaugh has since asserted that the team's hierarchy fired him.
From there, Jim Harbaugh went to his current job as the Michigan head coach. With the Wolverines, he has had seven seasons with a winning record, with 2020 being the only exception to the rule. Jim has twice won the Big Ten title and reached the playoffs in both years.
Jim Harbaugh will now appear in his first National Championship game in Houston against the Huskies, and will have his entire family in the stands cheering for him, according to reports.