Jim Harbaugh remains the football coach at Stanford. Where he steps on the field next September, however, remains up in the air.
Harbaugh appears to be choosing between the Cardinal, a team he led to a 12-1 record this past season, and the San Francisco 49ers, the nearby NFL team that met with him for five hours earlier this week and reportedly offered him a five-year contract.
A source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that Stanford is the favorite and an announcement on Harbaugh's fate could come as soon as Friday.
On Thursday, Harbaugh met with top Stanford officials -- including university president John Hennessey -- so that the school could make its best offer to try to retain him. The university reportedly upped an offer it had made to Harbaugh in December.
The 49ers met with Harbaugh for more than five hours Wednesday, and a source said on Thursday night, after news broke that Harbaugh would not go to the Miami Dolphins, San Franisco was willing to increase its offer.
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