AP source: Michigan lands Harbaugh as new coach

Former San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has signed a deal to become the new coach at Michigan, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no formal announcement from the school or Harbaugh, who did not return calls or text messages. But not long after Harbaugh arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Monday night, Michigan scheduled a Tuesday news conference for a “major” football announcement.

“I think we’ll have some comments tomorrow,” Harbaugh told The Michigan Daily, the student newspaper in Ann Arbor.

The 51-year-old Harbaugh coached the 49ers to three straight NFC championship games and San Francisco lost the 2013 Super Bowl to a Baltimore Ravens team coached by his brother, John.

After the 49ers slipped to 8-8 this season, he parted ways with the team Sunday.

A day later, his name was the buzz of the Big Ten.

“He’s basically Michigan royalty right now,” said former Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson, now a Jacksonville Jaguars running back. “He’s the man right now. I think he’s going to do a great job and help out recruiting. He’s had success at every school he went to.”

Under Brady Hoke, Michigan dipped to 5-7 this season. The Wolverines were 31-20 in Hoke’s four seasons and declined steadily after an 11-2 mark in his first year.

Harbaugh went 58-27 overall as a college coach at San Diego and Stanford, including a 29-21 record in four seasons with the Cardinal. He took over a 1-11 team when he was hired in December 2006 and quickly turned the program back into a winner and bowl contender.