The Stanford stepping stone?

Keep an eye on him as he rises through the coaching ranks, from San Diego on up to Stanford.

Yesterday, former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh was hired as the Cardinal's head coach. And a job at a Division I program looks like an excellent point from which to jump toward the position that many Wolverines fans hope is his eventual destination.

Is there a set of headphones being kept warm for Harbaugh in Ann Arbor? I'm certainly among those hoping so, and said as much in one of the very first posts on this blog (which wasn't nearly the original idea I may have thought it was at the time).

His 29-6 record at San Diego was certainly impressive, though some will surely wait to see what he can achieve at the Pac-10 level before declaring him bona fide. For me, however, the Bob Bowlsby stamp of approval is enough for me. As athletic director at Iowa, Bowlsby hired Kirk Ferentz, which says to me that his eye for coaching talent is quite sharp. So if Harbaugh's good enough for him, he might just be pretty damn good.

▪▪ If you haven't read it already, Brian Cook has taken a closer look at Harbaugh and the Stanford job over at the AOL Fanhouse.

▪▪ And here's what Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks of the hire.