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Jim Harbaugh says he doesn't miss the NFL

Rick Osentoski / Reuters

Jim Harbaugh parting ways with the San Francisco 49ers and subsequently landing the lead job at Michigan was easily one of the top football stories of 2015.

The star head coach didn't disappoint in his first season at Ann Arbor, either. A strong 10-3 season was capped off with a Citrus Bowl victory over Florida, and Michigan now heads into the second year of the Harbaugh era as one of several national title contenders.

Given the unfortunate end to his highly successful stint in San Francisco, though, many will continue to wonder whether he'll quickly get the itch to return to the NFL.

Not so, says Harbaugh.

"It's not like I 'miss' the NFL, because it didn’t go anywhere," Harbaugh told Albert Breer of The MMQB. "I get great enjoyment watching, and I'm a diehard watching my brother, his team, and what they're doing. There are things not coaching in the NFL that you do miss, those relationships with the players themselves, who are playing at the highest level.

"But I have those relationships with the players here, the NFL is still there, and getting them in a position to get to experience that is a very worthwhile thing, and I attack that every single day. Bottom line, it's not something to miss. It's still there … I'm happy and challenged every day with what I'm doing right now."

Regardless of his current feelings on the matter, the interest from NFL teams will certainly always be there.

Harbaugh led the 49ers to a 44-19-1 record and three NFC title games over four seasons. That .695 winning percentage stands as the fifth-best mark in NFL history, behind only Guy Chamberlain, John Madden, Vince Lombardi, and George Allen.

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