Why Jim Harbaugh Will Turn Around the Los Angeles Chargers
Author: Dylan Lieck | January 25th, 2024 | 2:01 A.M. CST
It’s Jim Harbaugh’s World and We Are All Just Living In It:
The question has finally been answered on whether Jim Harbaugh will return to the NFL, as today he officially came to an agreement with the Los Angeles Chargers to become their next head coach. Harbaugh’s deal is reportedly a five-year deal, although the dollar amount has yet to be disclosed to the public. Although Harbaugh’s current salary is still unknown, what is known is that Michigan was willing to make him the highest paid coach in college football in order to get him to stay at the university. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Jim Harbaugh isn’t a guy who is swayed by money. Back in 2020, Harbaugh actually took a relatively significant pay cut at Michigan, with his salary dropping from 8 million dollars annually to 4 million.
Going into the 2024 CFB Playoff many felt that Harbaugh was coaching for the final few times at Michigan, regardless of whether Michigan won the National Title. That narrative gained even more traction following Michigan’s victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl, a game that the Wolverines pulled out in overtime, 27-20. Harbaugh’s Wolverines did more than just secure a spot in the National Title, they won the whole thing, defeating the Washington Huskies in dominating fashion in the CFB National Title game. Following the victory, many felt it was a foregone conclusion that Harbaugh would leave Michigan and head back to the NFL. However, Harbaugh did his best over the past few weeks to keep people guessing as to whether he truly wanted to leave Michigan. In fact, he went as far as negotiating his contract with the university, while at the same time interviewing with the Los Angeles Chargers for their head coaching vacancy.
Ultimately, Harbaugh decided against returning to the college ranks, and few would blame him for doing so. The reality is that collegiate athletics have turned into the “wild wild west” in the past few years. The allowance and continued progression of NIL deals, along with the creation of the transfer portal have completely changed the landscape of collegiate athletics. While recruiting was always a significant portion of the job as a head football coach in the NCAA, it’s become even more important. Due to the fact that college football players can now transfer anywhere in the country, without repercussion each year, it becomes a job of not only recruiting kids to come to your school, but also recruiting kids to stay. Add to that situation the fact that coaches are also having to recruit kids out of that transfer portal to come to their school. It’s essentially become the NFL, with every player on a one-year contract, while also having no real rules or limits on what college athletes can earn. Thus, the workload, time, and stress-levels are all at all-time highs for college football coaches. The reality of the situation is that it just isn’t as appealing to coach in college anymore. Add to the fact that Harbaugh was able to deliver a National Championship to his alma mater, and his fate was all but sealed.
So Jim Harbaugh heads back to the NFL, and once again he will reside in California. However, this time it will be in Los Angeles rather than San Francisco. Harbaugh’s first stint in the NFL with the 49ers was the exact same as everywhere else he has coached: filled with success. Over four seasons in the Bay area, Harbaugh was 44-19-1 (.639) in the regular season and led the team to three seasons of 11+ wins. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in his very first season, after leading his Niners to a 13-3 record, and the top seed in the NFC. Additionally, the Niners were 5-3 in the playoffs under Harbaugh, and he became the first coach in NFL history to reach the conference championship game in each of his first three seasons. In just his second year as an NFL head coach, Harbaugh led his team to the Super Bowl, where he faced off against his brother, John, and the Baltimore Ravens. That brother v. brother Super Bowl came down to a single series inside the 10 yard line, where the 49ers came up just a few yards short of winning it all. Considering all that success, it’s hard to believe Harbaugh spent just 4 years in San Francisco.
It’s interesting to consider the ramifications of what might’ve happened had the Niners won that game. Would Harbaugh have ever gone to Michigan at that point? We do know that his release had nothing to do with the performance of the team, although they did miss the playoffs in his final season, going 8-8. But, it’s a much different scenario for the Niners management team to decide to let go a guy who just delivered the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory since 1994. It’s a facinating scenario to consider, however we will never truly know the answer.
What we do know is that Harbaugh landed back in the college ranks, and what he did at Michigan was truly remarkable. The Wovlerines had not won an outright, undisputed National Title since 1948, despite being one of the premier programs in the country. Harbaugh obviously changed that this year with their run throught he CFB Playoffs. But it wasn’t just an impressive run this season that defines Harbaugh’s time at Michigan. Over the course of his final three seasons there, the Wolverines went a staggering 35-1 in the regular season, bolstering a perfect 3-0 record against Penn State and Ohio State in that stretch. They won three consecutive Big 10 Championships, and made it to the CFB Playoff all three seasons. Harbaugh’s lone regular season in that span came on the road to Michigan State back in 2021, a game the Wolverines lost by just 4 in the final few minutes of the game. The only thing missing from the resumé was success in the CFB Playoff, as the Wolverines went 0-2 in their first two trips to the tournament. But that all changed this year, as Michigan was able to finally complete the perfect season, finishing 15-0 as undisputed National Champs. Harbaugh will forever be a legend at the University of Michigan.
But now it’s time to return to the NFL. And the question is never going to be whether Harbaugh is the right man for the job. It’s not going to be whether he can have success at the NFL level either, because we know both of those things to be true. The question is, if Harbaugh can turn this Chargers franchise around, will he be considered one of the all-time great football coaches? The answer to thath remains to be seen, however if Harbaugh were to bring a Super Bowl to Los Angeles, it would be hard to argue against the guy being an all-timer. He has all the accolades that someone in that category would need, with the only missing piece being that Super Bowl.
If Harbaugh is unable to turn this thing around in L.A. we do know that it won’t be for a lack of talent. Now the Chargers cap space is likely going to play a factor in who they can ultimately retain over the course of the next few seasons. But the key piece we know that will be there no matter what is Justin Herbert. Herbert has been absolutely outstanding in his first few seasons in the NFL, and he’s done that with subpar offensive coordinators, and a head coach that at times looked like he had no clue what he was doing. Herbert must be more than thrilled to have Jim Harbaugh coming into coach his team. After all, Harbaugh’s track record developing QBs has given him the nickname “the quarterback whisperer.” It’s truly remarkable the things Harbaugh has done with QBs in his career, and now he may be coaching the best one he’s ever had.
Looking back at the guys Harbaugh has developed, we can start with San Diego University. Enter Todd Mortenson. Who? Exactly. Mortenson was a three-year backup at BYU, where he had completed 27 of 77 passes for 1 TD and 4 picks in his three seasons as a backup. In one season at San Diego, Harbaugh turned Mortenson from a career collegiate backup to a fringe-NFL quarterback. It was truly remarkable the amount of production Harbaugh got out of this kid. Mortonsen finished the season with over 2,800 passing yards and 25 TDs. He was named First Team All-PFL and was awarded Co-Offensie Player of the Year as well. Mortenson ended up playing a few seasons on practice squads in the NFL, and there is a very real possibility that if he never transfers to San Diego under Harbaugh that he never plays another collegiate snap at BYU and his career ends right there.
The next guy he had at San Diego was Josh Johnson, the first QB who Harbaugh got to develop from the very beginning of his collegiate career. In the three years Johnson was the starter under Harbaugh, he posted a 30-4 record, and he finished his career at San Diego with over 11,500 total yards and 132 total touchdowns. His college numbers were absolutely staggering, and he still holds the record for career for highest passer rating in the history of college football. His passer rating also improved every single year in college, culminating with a rating of 198.3 in his senior season. Johnson went on to the NFL where he bounced around many organizations as a backup. But, the development of Johnson under Harbaugh was astounding.
Next we move to Andrew Luck, who played for Harbaugh during his time at Stanford. Luck is arguably the only guy Harbaugh has ever coached who is more talented than Justin Herbert. We all know that Luck was highly recruited coming out of high school, as he had skills and physical ability that very few young QBs possess, while also being a very cerebral player. However, Luck’s improvement from his freshman to junior seasons under Harbaugh were significant. Each of his three seasons, Luck increased his completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and passer rating. It culminated with his senior season where he threw for 3,517 yards, 37 TDs, and just 10 picks, while bolstering a 170 passer rating. He finished second in the Heisman voting back-to-back seasons, and was the first over draft pick. In the NFL Luck had an illustrious career, with countless accolades and NFL records. Unfortunately, Luck decided to retire early in his career. However, the impact that Jim Harbaugh had on Andrew Luck’s development cannot be understated.
After moving to the NFL Harbaugh had two different quarterbacks that led his offense in San Francisco: Alex Smith and Collin Kapernick. Alex Smith, a highly drafted QB out of the University of Utah, looked very much like a bust early in his career. In his first 5 seasons in the NFL Alex Smith struggled mightily, throwing 51 TDs and 53 Interceptions as the QB for the 49ers. In those five seasons, Smith did not have a single season where he completed more than 60% of his passes, nor did he have a single season where he averaged more than 6.9 yards per pass. His highest passer rating in that span was 80 and his highest QBR just 44.4. Once again, in steps Jim Harbaugh. The two seasons Alex Smith started games for the 49ers with Harbaugh as the coach, Smith had the best two seasons of his career up to that point. His second year under Harbaugh he completed over 70% of his passes (only time in his career that happened). Over the coure of those two years, Smith threw 30 passing TDs and just 10 interecpetions. His passer rating and QBR both went up each year and were both career highs, and his yards per pass did the same. Smith literally went from a guy who was considered a giant bust in the NFL to a guy who not only was a successful starter in San Francisco, but prolonged his successful career in Kansas City for multiple years after.
Despite the success of Alex Smith, Harbaugh decided to switch QBs midway through his second year in San Francisco. In steps Collin Kaepernick. Kaepernick came into the NFL with amazing athletic traits and a big arm, but the ability to be a legitimate NFL quarterback was a big question. But once again Jim Harbaugh’s development of QBs came to fruition. In his first season taking over as the starter (midway through the season), Kaepernick took the league by storm, leading his team to a Super Bowl appearance, and nearly to a victory. In the two and a half seasons under Harbaugh, Kaepernick threw 50 TDs and ran for 10 more, and that came in a limited amount of games his first season as the starter. Kaepernick went from a backup, to an MVP candidate almost overnight. He was a play away from being a Super Bowl MVP. And what happened after Harbaugh left? His career slid downhill fast. Kaepernick had 5 TDs and 4 picks in 9 starts the first season after the departure of Jim Harbaugh. Those two seasons his QBR and passer rating were at all time lows, as were his TD:INT ratio, and his accuracy. Two years later, he was out of the league (and yes we know other factors were at play, but his level of play significantly dropped).
Overall, Harbaugh’s track record with quarterbacks speaks for itself. He’s just got a way of getting the best out of guys, and it’s very unlikely that changes in Los Angeles. He’s now got the most talented quarterback that he has ever had. Andrew Luck was more talented than Herbert, but Harbaugh had Luck in college, while he has Herbert after some significant success in the NFL already. There’s almost no doubt that Jim Harbaugh will bring some improvement to Herbert’s game, and that is absolutely terrifying. Herbert is still extremely young, and the physical tools are absolutely astounding. From a pure passing standpoint he’s a top 5 QB in the NFL, and there’s no doubt he will have a shot to become an elite NFL player if Harbaugh is able to spend significant time in Los Angeles.
Overall, Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL is a positive thing for football. He is going to have success in Los Angeles, it’s just a matter of how quickly he will do it. It would not surprise me the least bit if in a couple years we are sitting here talking about how the Los Angeles Chargers are Super Bowl Champs, Justin Herbert is an MVP and Super Bowl MVP, and this is turning into a legitimate NFL franchise. At that point, even the haters will have no choice but to consider Jim Harbaugh as an all-time great football coach. Either way, it’s going to be an entertaining ride, and I know every NFL fan is fascinated to see how it plays out in Los Angeles.
