AP

A report over the weekend that the University of Michigan was interested in Ravens coach John Harbaugh as a potential replacement for Brady Hoke was answered by another report that Harbaugh wasn’t interested in the job.

Harbaugh delivered the same message at Monday’s press conference. Harbaugh said he’s “interested” in Hoke, who worked on the same staff as Harbaugh at Western Michigan when Jack Harbaugh was the head coach, remaining the coach in Ann Arbor.

“I don’t really know why [the rumors have started],” Harbaugh said, via the team. “Brady Hoke is a guy that we all believe in. The Harbaughs believe in Brady Hoke. He’s a great coach. He has done it everywhere he’s ever been. He believes in Michigan. I believe in what they’re doing there, and they’re going to get it turned around. The team should be galvanized right now, and I would expect them to come out like a bunch of wounded lions and go to work, because they love Brady and they love those coaches, and they just have to go.”

It’s interesting that Harbaugh should use the phrase “wounded lions” since Hoke’s handling of injured quarterback Shane Morris is fueling the fire started by the team’s failures on the field. Hoke lashed out at people questioning his integrity for sending a clearly injured Morris back into the game twice after he took a blow to the head by saying that he would never send a player on the field if there was a possibility of head trauma. That answer rang hollow once school released a statement in the middle of the night admitting that Morris suffered a concussion and wasn’t checked out before returning to the game, however, and it looks less likely with every passing day that Hoke will survive the season.

The replacement may not be a member of the Harbaugh family and John seems like an unlikely choice given his contract and success in Baltimore, but the chatter isn’t likely to go away as long as Michigan is looking for someone to restore some luster to their tarnished program.