Weighing the pros and cons of Atlanta Falcons hiring Jim Harbaugh

The Cons

1. How Long Would He Be Around?

When you dive into Harbaugh's various Football Reference pages, two things stand out immediately: he wins, and he doesn't stick around for very long. His nine years at Michigan is far and away the longest he's ever been at a job. He was with the 49ers and Stanford for four years a piece. Before that, he only spend three years at San Diego State. Bouncing around different places -- especially as an assistant -- is just part of life as a football coach, but there's something a little odd about his tendancy to leave. Coupled with the fact that there are plenty of reports out there detailing how difficult he can be to work with, it makes you wonder how long he'd stick around Atlanta. Granted, Arthur Blank doesn't have quite the meddling reputation that other owners around the NFL do, but it'd be interesting to see how Harbaugh responds to no longer being the top dog that he was for a decade in Ann Arbor.

2. His Track Record Developing QBs Is Complicated

A lot of the Harbaugh discourse centers around the fact that he developed Andrew Luck and Colin Kaepernick into bonafide stars. But there are a ton of QBs that Harbaugh had a Michigan that you probably don't even remember, mostly on account of not having memorable careers. How much of that falls on Harbaugh and his reputation has a QB whisperer? The Falcons are probably starting over at QB this offseason, and there's enough smoke around the 'Harbaugh Wants To Coach JJ McCarthy In The Pros Too' fire to be a tiny bit concerned. Of course, he's going to get a much more naturally-talented QB in the pros than he ever got at Michigan, but still – there are enough weirdly-bad years to give concerned Falcons fans a bit of pause. Just a bit, though.