News
1/24/24
2 min read
Chargers Hire Jim Harbaugh As Head Coach
The Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach.
Harbaugh has been coach at Michigan for nine seasons and is coming off his first National Championship earlier this month. His tenure at his alma mater was longer than most people anticipated when he was hired in 2015. He was at the University of San Diego for three seasons (2004-06), Stanford for four (2007-2010), and the San Francisco 49ers for four (2011-14). As the 49ers' coach he was 44-19-1, leading San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game three times and a Super Bowl appearance in 2012.
He now returns to the NFL sidelines, where he will replace Brandon Staley. Los Angeles fired Staley and general manager Tom Telesco on Dec. 15 after a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chargers finished 5-12.
The Chargers interviewed 15 head-coaching candidates, the most in the NFL. They still have a vacant general manager position and have interviewed nine candidates, with no second interviews announced yet.
Harbaugh, who played quarterback for 14 years in the NFL, spent his final two seasons (1999-2000) with the Chargers and has a relationship with the Spanos ownership group.
He will take over a team that has had plenty of talent over the last several years but has continuously failed to reach expectations. The franchise extended quarterback Justin Herbert last offseason on a five-year, $262.5 million deal. Harbaugh is enamored with the idea of working with him.
Prior to taking the Chargers job, Harbaugh also took two interviews with the Atlanta Falcons. He interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings two years ago. Harbaugh also had discussions with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers last year.
Even though he led Michigan to its first national title since 1997, Harbaugh had a difficult year. The NCAA suspended him for the first three games for misleading investigators, and later, the Big 10 suspended him for the last three regular-season games for alleged sign stealing.
