I'm not saying it's a 100% lock, but as a Broncos fan who has bled orange and blue through good seasons and bad since the early '80s, I'm feeling relatively confident that there's some behind-the-scenes action happening down at Dove Valley to lure Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh to the Mile High City. And I genuinely believe it could happen. Things are very much trending in that direction.

For what it's worth, back in January 2011 after Josh McDaniels was fired, I posted on Facebook that a Jim Harbaugh - Andrew Luck combo would have looked pretty sweet in orange and blue. We all know what happened instead.

Luck was drafted by the Colts and Harbaugh became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. We got John Fox as head coach and a year later, The Sheriff came to town - of course, I'm talking about Peyton Manning - and the rest is history.

Fox is long gone. And since Peyton rode off into the sunset, things in Broncos Country have looked bleak, to say the least. So maybe I'm 12 years late and a different quarterback away from getting my wish, but I like our chances this time.

Here's why I feel good about our prospects of landing Harbaugh as our next head coach.

Multiple NFL insiders are already reporting that not only has Denver done their homework on Harbaugh, but they've already reached out to him. And it makes sense that this could be why ownership fired Nathaniel Hackett with a couple weeks left in the season - to get a head start on other teams who may fire their coach at the end of the season and pursue him.

IF Harbaugh makes the leap back to the NFL, wherever he lands is going to have to back up the money truck. No team in the NFL has more cash for this kind of hire than the Broncos, being the richest owners in the NFL.

And multiple outlets today are reporting that if Harbaugh is offered and NFL job, in spite of what he said last month, he will leave Michigan for the right opportunity.

Harbaugh has plenty of connections to Denver brass. Condoleeza Rice - who's part of the ownership group and has been reported to be part of the search committee - is a Stanford alum still with strong connections to the university. Plus Broncos co-owner and CEO Greg Penner and his wife Carrie Walton Penner attended Stanford graduate school. Harbaugh was Stanford's head coach from 2007-2010, before his last NFL stint.

Also, speaking of Stanford, John Elway.

Far as the NFL rumor mill goes, prominent reporters across the media landscape are reporting that things are happening. As the expression goes, where there's smoke, there's fire.

But this one right here is the spark that lit it all. From Mike Florio and the official Twitter account of NBC's Pro Football Talk, on New Year's Eve.

Florio has a history of breaking news surrounding Harbaugh. Let's assume his sources close to the man himself are correct, and I get my head coach wish - just 12 years later than expected.

This is obviously a developing story!

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The Denver Broncos have one of the most successful franchises in the NFL. Eight Super Bowl appearances, 15 division titles, 21 playoff appearances, and three championships. But, as every fan knows, the road is never easy and with every victory, there are plenty of heartaches and disappointments. All the memorable moments and players are too many to mention here, but, take a look back at some of the highlights and heartaches of the past 60+ years.

 

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