Jim Harbaugh Gives Scouting Report On Jesus From Rose Bowl Presser: 'He Would've Been A Five-Star, No Doubt'

If Jim Harbaugh recruited football talent from the Biblical times, he knows exactly who he’d pursue.

Jesus.

The Michigan Wolverines head coach held his routine presser ahead of Monday’s Rose Bowl matchup against Alabama. OutKick’s Alejandro Avila attended the media session, and asked the coach how Biblical lessons affected his approach to leading the Wolverines this season.

Now if you set up Harbaugh with a question like this, you can expect a unique response. This guy has a knack for mixing his awkward sense of humor with off-the-cuff comments, which leads to a gold mine of memorable quotes. 

That’s what we got on Saturday. After hearing Avila’s question, Harbaugh said that if Jesus were alive in today’s world, he would have been a generational talent not just as a player, but also as a coach.

"I have a feeling that if Jesus were to come back now in this era, I suppose that many of the biblical analogies he'd use would be about sports as well as agriculture, maybe a combination of the two,” Harbaugh said. “Solomon would have been a great coach, too. I have that feeling. Jesus would have been a 5-star. He would have been a 5-star player, no doubt about it. He would have been a Hall of Fame coach."

Jesus Would've Been A Fantastic Quarterback

Frankly, we’d need a whole new grading scale for Jesus if he played football. He could command the wind and waves with a single word. Imagine the extent to which he could manipulate even the most exotic defenses as a quarterback! And his arm talent would have made Patrick Mahomes look average. Not even legendary defensive coach Nick Saban would be able to contain Jesus’ offensive prowess. 

If Jesus played for Michigan, he’d easily guide the Maze n’ Blue to the best offense in the country. But he'd also probably not be too keen on all the alleged cheating going on in that program.

And if he became a coach, forget about it. Guys like Saban, Bobby Bowden, and Knute Rockne would be afterthoughts in the greatest of all time discussion. 

Harbaugh Has Made Biblical Analogies In The Past

Harbaugh is a devout Roman Catholic, so he knows a thing or two about Jesus’ talents. And he’s no stranger to letting the Bible influence his coaching philosophy.

In 2022, Harbaugh said that the writing of King Solomon influenced his approach to the team’s quarterback competition that season.

Having Jesus on your roster at any position would be just as miraculous as someone turning water into wine (pun intended). But for now, Harbaugh and the Wolverines will just have to stick with their human roster and hope for the best.