Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's representatives are working behind the scenes to gauge interest in a possible return to the NFL, Football Scoop reported through sources on Tuesday.

Harbaugh previously served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, going 44-19 over four seasons with a Super Bowl appearance prior to leaving for the job at Michigan. Harbaugh has directed the Wolverines to three 10-win seasons since arriving in 2015, but they haven't beaten Ohio State yet and their best finish in the division was second to the Buckeyes in 2018.

National media speculated on Harbaugh's future with the Wolverines following Saturday's loss to Penn State, Michigan's latest failure against a Top 10 team.

Per Football Scoop:

Should Harbaugh take an NFL job, it would allow both he and Michigan to claim he left the program better than he found it while not trapping either side in what would quickly become an awkward arrangement — that of a favorite son returning home to lead the Wolverines to the promised land, only to be shackled in football purgatory where Harbaugh is too successful to fire but not successful enough to extend at the big-money figure that would be required to keep him.

Last weekend setback against the Nittany Lions was tough to stomach for the Wolverines, who fell behind three touchdowns before being one play away from tying the game late in the fourth quarter.

Picked to win the Big Ten for the first time since 2012 by media members this summer, the Wolverines have fallen out of the national championship picture at 5-2 and still have to play Notre Dame (Saturday) and Ohio State this season.

"That's where I'd pick us," Harbaugh said in July during media days in Chicago. "I feel like, as I said earlier, I feel like our team is in a really good place. A young, enthusiastic team with good players with a lot of good experience. I feel good about our coaching staff."

Never afraid to say exactly what he's thinking, Harbaugh was coy during summer interview sessions in the past, a level of reluctance often tied to teams who may not be as good as advertised in the preseason. Harbaugh harped on program-wide improvement and was short with the media during the 2018 season lead-up, then ran off 10 consecutive wins at one point before Michigan's campaign flatlined in Columbus with a chance to win the division.

Brazen publicly prior to the opener, Harbaugh felt this team had the talent and coaching staff to compete for its first conference championship since 2004, but those hopes are all but over with losses to Wisconsin and Penn State already on the slate. The expectation that Shea Patterson would be further developed by first-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis hasn't panned out and Michigan's offense has largely struggled.

A winless mark against Ohio State during his tenure coupled with a 1-10 record against Top 10 teams are outliers that have lingered.