Why did Jim Harbaugh leave the 49ers? Exploring Michigan HC's NFL career

Jim Harbaugh had an exceptional career in the pro football arena. When Harbaugh's 49ers reached Super Bowl XLVII (losing 34-31 to the Ravens), it was the closest the Niners had been to the Lombardi in three decades.

Harbaugh was brought in to coach the 49ers in 2011, which would mark his first and only stint as a head coach in the NFL. He won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in his first season after leading the stuttering 49ers to the NFC Championship Game.

The following season, Jim Harbaugh and his 49ers went all the way to Super Bowl XLVII, where Harbaugh would lose to the Baltimore Ravens, coached by his brother John.

The 49ers would continue to see success, with Harbaugh becoming the first head coach to reach a conference championship game in each of his first three seasons.

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl - Michigan v TCU

But this was also the year a brewing power struggle emerged between Harbaugh and GM Trent Baalke, eventually leading to the coach's departure.

The 49ers and Harbaugh parted ways due to disagreements between Baalke and Harbaugh about the power hierarchy of the team and the management of the organization losing faith in the coach.

A year after the 49ers reached the Super Bowl under Harbaugh, his stint with the team ended, as he officially made his way to the Michigan Wolverines, his alma mater.

The playing career of Jim Harbaugh in the NFL

Arizona Cardinals v San Francisco 49ers

Before he became one of the most renowned coaches in his short NFL stint and in the world of College Football, Harbaugh was a quarterback in the late '80s and '90s. He was picked 26th overall in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

During his seven seasons with the team, he would serve as a reliable reserve and eventually as the lead signal caller for the Bears. He eventually moved on to sign with the Indianapolis Colts, where he would play out his best years in the NFL as their starting quarterback.

Harbaugh even made it to the Pro Bowl and was named the AFC Player of the Year during his career-best 1995 season, during which he led the Colts to the AFC Championship Game.

Harbaugh played a couple more years for the Colts before playing out his final few seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and the San Diego Chargers, respectively.