Jim Harbaugh informs Vikings he’s returning to Michigan

Well, we’ve been on Harbaugh Watch all day, and now we can finally stop.

For good.

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Harbaugh has informed his current employer, the University of Michigan, that he will be returning to the school for the upcoming season.

Harbaugh was interviewed by Vikings’ brass today in the Twin Cities as the last person to be brought in for a second interview. Things moved fast with Harbaugh, as he had his first interview with the team last Saturday and had his second one today. The speculation was rampant that he wanted the Vikings’ job and that the Vikings wanted him to take it, but in the end things just didn’t work out.

That leaves the Vikings with three other candidates that they conducted second interviews with over the past week:

• Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell
• Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris
• New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham

The team can’t officially hired Morris or O’Connell until after the Super Bowl concludes, but they can hire Graham any time they want. Graham, like Harbaugh, was not interviewed by the Vikings before the hiring of new General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, but was interviewed twice in the past week as well. O’Connell and Morris were both interviewed by the Vikings earlier in the process, which gave them the ability to conduct their second interviews with them earlier this week.

On the surface, it certainly looks like the Vikings swung for the fences and missed. Now, it’s time to see exactly how the new GM responds to this going forward.

Whoever the tenth head coach in Minnesota Vikings history is going to be, it won’t be Jim Harbaugh. What are your thoughts, folks?