One of the Broncos reported favorites for their coaching job is officially off the board.

According to The University of Michigan, Jim Harbaugh has told them that he is returning to coach their football program next season. This will obviously remove him from the list of candidates that the Denver Broncos will choose from in their head coaching search.

Harbaugh reportedly called the Broncos owner Greg Penner this morning to notify him and the Broncos of his decision to remain at Michigan according to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis.

The Harbaugh saga of whether will he or won’t return to the NFL in search of a Lombardi trophy has ended with him returning to Michigan in 2023. From the start, it was noted that if Harbaugh received a deal from Michigan, that he would likely return to the school. It appears that has happened and now the Broncos will begin looking elsewhere for a head coach.

The Broncos had an interview with Harbaugh last week over a zoom call. It lasted about two hours, but it appears this was done as leverage against Michigan and to help him get a pay raise from the school.

This leaves Sean Payton and Dan Quinn as the remaining “favorites” for the job. The Broncos are heading to Los Angeles tomorrow to interview with former Saints head coach Sean Payton in person. They will also interview Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, for the Broncos on Friday as well. Again, these two are the remaining two favorites for the job with former Stanford head coach David Shaw as a darkhorse candidate.

So, where do the Broncos go from here? Sean Payton is the one remaining big fish on the market and they are his first interview tomorrow. They could offer him the job and end it there. There has been plenty of smoke around the two and with Harbaugh out, it could increase their urgency for him moving forward.

Will the Broncos end this tomorrow? Or will they and Payton decide to let this process play out and go from there? Either way, it should be an eventful week for Broncos Country.