Earlier this evening NFLcom’s Tom Pelissero reported the Atlanta Falcons would be conducting a second interview with Jim Harbaugh next week. He’ll join former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on the list of candidates to receive second looks. That’s not just noteworthy news on the Falcons front (where Belichick is the presumed favorite), it’s noteworthy on the Chargers front as well.
Many in NFL circles have mentioned Harbaugh as the favorite to be the Bolts next headman, and after the organization met its Rooney Rule requirement of two in-person interviews with minority candidates with yesterday’s interview of David Shaw, there’s been ample speculation about things progressing with Harbaugh. But the second interview with the Falcons suggests things aren’t moving along as some predicted. I reached out to my top NFL agent source for some informed speculation on the matter, and he believes there’s a good chance money is at least part of the reason. Especially given what Harbaugh has indicated he’s looking for in the way of salary (i.e. doubling it).
Could (Falcon’s owner) Arthur Blank do that,” the source asked. “Yeah. If he thought that would help win a Super Bowl, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Would the Chargers do it? To me that’d be an upset. The Chargers are historically very cheap in everything they do. Maybe they’ve realized hat being cheap is the reputation that they have and it’s not good for them? But it would surprise me if they made that move. Not that they would hire him, but that they would pay him THAT much.”
