Last Wednesday, the Los Angeles Chargers announced the hiring of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh agreed to a five-year contract with the team after leading Michigan to a National Championship earlier in the month.
However, this was not an easy decision for Harbaugh. Multiple reports added that Michigan tried to convince their coach to stay by giving him a contract extension that would have made him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. Ultimately, Harbaugh chose to return to the NFL, a decision that has been speculated on for two years.
Harbaugh’s ties to the Chargers are stronger than most people would think. As a player, Harbaugh played for two seasons with the team as a backup quarterback. Now, almost 20 years after leaving the Chargers then, Harbaugh returns to the team with the task of improving the Chargers offense and franchise quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert had the worst season of his career with a completion percentage of 65.1 and 241.1 passing yards per game. Both of these numbers are career lows for Herbert who has had high expectations since entering the league in 2020.
Unlike most college head coaches who head to the NFL, Harbaugh is no stranger to this environment. In 2011, the San Francisco 49ers hired him from Stanford after a disappointing campaign and saw a great amount of success with Harbaugh at the helm as they reached three consecutive NFC Championship Games before a 8-8 campaign in the 2014 season saw him dismissed.
Harbaugh will also be bringing some familiar faces to Los Angeles. Three days after Harbaugh was hired, Michigan assistant Jesse Minter informed the Michigan Wolverines players that he would be joining Harbaugh on the Chargers. Minter had been the Wolverines defensive coordinator for the past two seasons and a move to the NFL was expected after Harbaugh was hired.
While Harbaugh has had past success at the NFL level, the situation he is inheriting is going to be a challenge. The Chargers are coming off of a disappointing 5-12 campaign that featured multiple fourth quarter collapses and a defense that ranked near the bottom of the league in almost every category. The team is also $44 million over the salary cap which will lead to a lot of roster retooling this offseason. However, Harbaugh’s track record as a head coach has usually resulted in immediate success and the Chargers will be hoping that this will be the case.
