Jim Harbaugh said his departure from the San Francisco 49ers actually wasn't mutual.

Harbaugh quickly became head coach of Michigan after Week 17.

“I was told I wouldn’t be the coach any more,” Harbaugh said. “And then . . . you can call it ‘mutual,’ I mean, I wasn’t going to put the 49ers in the position to have a coach that they didn’t want any more. But that’s the truth of it. I didn’t leave the 49ers. I felt like the 49er hierarchy left me.”

Harbaugh also confirmed that he was told he wouldn’t be returning on the Monday after a Week 15 loss to the Seahawks. He opted not to leave at that point.

“I wanted to finish what I started — what we started,” Harbaugh said.  “And I have great fond memories of it.”