NFL likely won't be safe harbor for Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh from potential NCAA discipline

Sign up for NFL+ to watch The Insiders every Monday-Friday at noon ET for more exclusive reports.

Amidst a tumultuous week for Michigan football, speculation has ramped up again about head coach Jim Harbaugh potentially making his long-discussed return to the NFL.

It might not be that simple.

The NFL is unlikely to make itself a safe harbor for Harbaugh to escape what could be substantial NCAA discipline, league sources say, raising the strong possibility Harbaugh would need to serve some or all of any possible suspension he could face in college if he returns to the pros.

There isn't a bylaw governing the matter. But sources pointed to former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel as precedent for how the NFL and its teams could handle a college suspension of Harbaugh, who already served a school-imposed three-game suspension this year for alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period and not cooperating with investigators, could still be further disciplined by the NCAA in that case and now faces allegations against the program for an elaborate sign-stealing operation.

Back in 2011, Ohio State quarterback Terrell Pryor was facing a five-game suspension for trading memorabilia for cash and tattoos when he declared for the NFL supplemental draft. Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the five-game suspension, saying in a then-statement: "This smacks of a calculated effort to manipulate our eligibility rules."

Tressel -- who also was suspended five games by Ohio State, but ultimately resigned as Buckeyes coach amidst the scandal -- had taken a game-day consultant job with the Colts, and the NFL's decision on Pryor raised questions. As is often the case with coaches, the league allowed the team to handle the case, and