Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh gives bonkers quote in response to religious question

It is not uncommon to hear athletes or coaches reference their faith or something religious in a news conference. University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh took that to a really weird place on Saturday when he was asked a question about how important Jesus and his faith are to him toward the end of a news conference.

The simplest way to put it — Harbaugh believes Jesus would have been a great player and coach. 

The full quote, from the Detroit Free Press:

“I have a feeling that if Jesus would have come back now in this era, I suppose that many of the biblical analogies and teachings would be about sports, as well as agriculture, maybe a combination of the two,” Harbaugh said. “Solomon would have been a great coach, too. I have that feeling. Jesus would have been a five-star. He would have been a five-star player, no doubt about it. He would have been a Hall of Fame coach.”

There are a lot of things happening there, from the sports and agriculture analogies to the suggestion that Jesus would have been a five-star player. Harbaugh unfortunately missed his chance to say that he could have been a miracle worker on the field or the sidelines. 

Harbaugh is Roman Catholic and has spoken often about his faith, so it is not a surprise that before one of the biggest games of his coaching career, somebody would ask him about it. His answer to the question, however, is plenty surprising.

Michigan defeated the Washington Huskies in the CFP national championship on Monday, 34-13, to capture their first national title since 1997. This was Michigan's third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff. They had previously lost in the semifinals in each of the previous two years.

Michigan was a perfect 14-0 this season but had to win several games without Harbaugh who served two separate suspensions. He missed the first part of the season due to a suspension relating to recruiting violations and then missed the final three games of the regular season due to a sign-stealing scandal.