Minnesota Fires Offensive Coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. After 42-14 Loss at Penn State

Minnesota has fired offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. after Saturday's 42-14 loss at Penn State, ESPN's Pete Thamel and On3's Pete Nakos (opens in a new tab) reported Sunday.

The move comes with two regular season games left and the Gophers at 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten, one win short of bowl eligibility. Saturday's defeat was Minnesota's third straight.

How the news broke

Earlier Sunday, Ryan Burns of 247Sports' Gopher Gazette reported, citing a source, that head coach P.J. Fleck had relieved Harbaugh of his play-calling and quarterback coaching duties (opens in a new tab). The reports from Thamel and Nakos followed, describing the move as a firing. Undrafted could not find a statement from the program, and Harbaugh was still listed as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Minnesota's official staff page (opens in a new tab) on Sunday afternoon.

Minnesota has not said who will call plays against Northwestern. Gopher Gazette named two possibilities without confirming either: wide receivers coach Isaac Fruechte, who called plays at North Dakota, and offensive assistant Mike Shula.

A rough Saturday in State College

The Penn State game made the case against the offense in plain numbers. Minnesota totaled 60 yards on 31 plays in the first half and did not score, according to Gopher Gazette. The Gophers finished with 226 total yards and just 41 rushing yards, according to Minnesota Sports Fan (opens in a new tab), and their only points came on two third quarter touchdown passes from Drake Lindsey to Javon Tracy.

The slide began after Minnesota's 13-10 win over No. 15 Iowa on Oct. 24. The Gophers then lost 23-16 in overtime at No. 4 Indiana and 34-20 to No. 5 UCLA before the trip to Penn State.

An offense near the bottom of the country

The struggles were not limited to one afternoon. During the losing streak, Minnesota reached 20 points only once, against UCLA, and the Gophers have not topped 21 points since a win at Washington in Week 4, according to On3. Gopher Gazette reported that Minnesota is averaging 258 yards per game against Big Ten opponents, last in the conference, and ranks 131st nationally in offensive EPA per play and 134th in offensive success rate. Lindsey has averaged 169 passing yards per game over his last five games, the outlet added.

Earlier in the fall, Bring Me The News (opens in a new tab) found the Gophers 131st in the country and last in the Big Ten in rushing at 104.8 yards per game, and 109th in total offense at 341.3 yards per game, in late October.

Fleck was asked about this two weeks ago

The question of Harbaugh's future was already in the air in early November. Speaking to the Pioneer Press (opens in a new tab) on Nov. 3, Fleck said, "Well, we're kind of in it. So, I guess I really haven't thought about it because you're looking to be 1-0 every single week." He added, "That's always a relationship between the head coach and OC."

At the time, the Pioneer Press noted Minnesota ranked 125th nationally at 4.9 yards per play and 89th in scoring at 25.3 points per game.

Harbaugh's run with the Gophers

This was Harbaugh's seventh year overall at Minnesota, according to his school bio. He rejoined the staff in January 2022, was named co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January 2023, and took over as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2025. Gopher Gazette credited him with nearly four years of calling plays. Before returning to Minnesota, Harbaugh coached wide receivers at Western Michigan. Despite the famous name, Harbaugh is not related to the well-known Harbaugh coaching family.

His tenure produced some strong individual seasons. Max Brosmer set a Minnesota single-season record with 268 completions in 2024, and Lindsey threw for 2,382 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2025, according to the school. As a scoring offense, though, the Gophers never finished higher than ninth in the Big Ten under Harbaugh's play calling, per Gopher Gazette's numbers: 20.9 points per game in 2023, 26.2 in 2024 and 23.0 in 2025.

What comes next

Minnesota hosts Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 21, for Senior Day, then closes the regular season at Wisconsin on Nov. 27. A win in either game would make the Gophers bowl eligible, and whoever takes over the play sheet will have one week to get an offense that managed 14 points at Penn State moving again.

Sources: ESPN, On3, 247Sports (Gopher Gazette), Pioneer Press, Bring Me The News, Minnesota Sports Fan, Gopher Sports.

Photo: Minnesota Athletics (file photo from Oct. 24, 2026, vs. Iowa).