Jim Harbaugh found an odd way to describe just how charged up he is to return to the NFL
The former University of Michigan head coach, named the Chargers’ headman in January, described the first day of training camp as quite the exhilarating experience.
“It feels like New Year’s Day,” he said during his post-practice press conference.
“It feels like being born. It feels like coming out of the womb, you know, it’s like you’re in there and it’s comfortable, it’s safe, and now ‘poof,’ you’re born. The lights are on, it’s bright. You got chaos, people looking at you, people talking at you. It just feels good to have it happen.”
Coming off nine seasons at the helm in Ann Arbor — securing three Big Ten titles and a national championship this past season — Harbaugh signed a massive five-year contract with Los Angeles.
His $16 million salary makes the former NFL quarterback the third-highest-paid coach in the league, trailing Broncos head coach Sean Peyton and Andy Reid, who has three Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs.
The Chargers finished 5-12 last season and fired head coach Brandon Staley following a dreadful 63-21 loss to the Raiders on Dec.15.
Star quarterback Justin Herbert has thrown for 17,223 yards and 114 touchdowns in four seasons, but the team has only made the playoffs once in that span, with their most recent appearance being in 2022, ending in a loss to the Jaguars after blowing a 27-0 lead.
“I’ll leave the analogies to him,” Herbert said of his coach’s birth comments per ESPN. “He’s done a great job at creating those, so I’ll support whatever he says. We’re just out there playing football, and my job is to throw the ball, so that’s what I’m going to worry about.”
Harbaugh is tasked with revitalizing a franchise that has failed to fulfill its potential since Herbert was drafted sixth overall in 2020.
Looking at former Michigan superstar quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, who was selected No.10 overall by Vikings in the 2024 NFL draft, Harbaugh is certainly capable.
This isn’t the 60-year-old’s first rodeo as an NFL coach.
He had a three-year stint with the 49ers (2011-2014), where he went 44-19-1 and reached the playoffs his first three seasons, losing to the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.
Harbaugh, though, clashed with general manager Trent Baalke and was let go after an 8-8 season.
He joined the Wolverines’ coaching staff soon after in 2015.
“I got so many sands left in the in the hourglass and I want to take a crack at that,” Harbaugh said on the CBS pregame show before the AFC Championship game in January, which saw his brother John and the Ravens fell to the Chiefs, 17-10. “There’s nowhere better to do it than with the Los Angeles Chargers. Susie Spanos, [owner] Dean Spanos, Ed McGuire, John Spanos and this great quarterback [Herbert].”
Harbaugh, a first-round pick in the 1987 NFL Draft, played for five teams over 15 seasons as a quarterback — including his final two with the Chargers,
The Chargers open the regular season on Sep.8 against the Raiders at SoFi Stadium.
