"Wasn't a ton of fun": When Jim Harbaugh opened up about the painful bouts of boxing with elder brother John

Jim Harbaugh and his Michigan team had a two-hour delay in their game against Hawaii in Week 2 of the 2022 season due to weather issues. This kept the Wolverines players and the coaching staff locked in the locker room, doing things they had no plans for.

Tight end Luke Schoomaker disclosed that he was watching the UFC in an interview. This led to the school's radio asking Jim Harbaugh if he was a UFC fan during his session on Sept. 12, 2002, and if he ever saw himself battling in the cage. In his answer, the coach narrated his childhood experience with combat sports with his brother, John.

“My dad was a boxer a little bit, [but] my grandfather was a boxer," Harbaugh said. "Bill Harbaugh was a fighter, he had eight or nine fights. I can remember my dad always trying to teach me and John how to box with gloves in the garage.

“I just couldn't keep my eyes open like my dad said. Someone is throwing a punch at you and you can't blink… It was just hard to move my head the way you're supposed to. I just get hit a lot. It wasn't a ton of fun. So, I can't imagine doing the UFC.” (0:45)

Michigan secured an emphatic 56-10 win against Hawaii when the game eventually kicked off to start the season 2-0. The Wolverines did not record a regular season loss that year, claiming the Big Ten championship with a victory against Purdue.

The possibility of Jim Harbaugh returning to college football

Jim Harbaugh left Michigan earlier this year for the NFL after leading the program to the national championship. He was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers, marking a return to the league after a stint in Ann Arbor. However, a return to college football now looks unlikely.

A host of controversies at Michigan, including recruiting violations and sign-stealing, played a role in his departure from college football. The NCAA sanctioned him with a four-year show-cause order in August for impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period.

“A Division I Committee on Infractions panel determined former Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations, resulting in a four-year show-cause order,” the NCAA wrote.

This makes a return to college football in the next couple of years highly unlikely for Jim Harbaugh. Aside from his tenure at Michigan, the coach also worked at San Diego and Stanford before taking the San Francisco 49ers job in 2012. He boasts five conference titles and a national championship in college football.