Like many in their 60s, a milestone he reached two days before Christmas, newly-hired Los Angeles Chargers Coach Jim Harbaugh’s youth included a fair bit of 1960s and 70s television.
That came through loud and clear Feb. 1 during a news conference to introduce the former University of Michigan coach at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
“My favorite show growing up was ‘The Rockford Files,’” Mr. Harbaugh said, referencing the 1974-80 NBC series starring James Garner as a wrongfully convicted ex-con turned private detective who lived and worked out of a rundown mobile home in a beachfront Malibu parking lot.
While awaiting the relocation of his family from Ann Arbor and getting further indoctrinated into a return to the NFL, Mr. Harbaugh has a plan.
“I want to drive my RV out and Jim Rockford it for the next couple of months,” Mr. Harbaugh said.
A one-time Chargers quarterback during their days in San Diego, Mr. Harbaugh agreed Jan. 24 to leave the recently-crowned national champion Wolverines for a sequel in the NFL, where he coached the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14.
Then head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates after defeating the Washington Huskies during the 2024 CFP National Championship game in Houston on Jan. 8, 2024. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
That marked the first of two major offseason moves by the Chargers, who on Jan. 30 named Joe Hortiz general manager. Formerly the director of player personnel for the Baltimore Ravens, Mr. Hortiz received an excellent recommendation from Mr. Harbaugh’s older brother, John, Baltimore’s coach.
It will be up to Mr. Harbaugh and Mr. Hortiz to turn around a most-often disappointing Chargers franchise coming off a 5–12 season that cost former Coach Brandon Staley and former General Manager Tom Telesco their jobs.
“My relationship with the GM, I really want to be Robin to his Batman in the offseason,” Mr. Harbaugh said. “And when it turns around to the season, then I’ll be Batman and he’ll be Robin for me. Caped Crusaders, man.”
Having superheroes at the helm might not be a bad way to go for the Chargers, but Mr. Harbaugh is not shying away from the challenge. He has, after all, won at every stop during his head-coaching career, from the University of San Diego to Stanford, from the 49ers to Michigan.
“One thing I know is Los Angeles, Southern California, they respect talent, effort and winning,” Mr. Harbaugh said. “Our goal is to treat people in a first-class manner and to win multiple championships. I’m not going to be shy about stating that. We want to be known as World Champions. We’re going to do it or die trying.”
Mr. Harbaugh emerged from a deep and impressive field of 15 candidates considered by the Chargers, John Spanos, the team’s president of football operations, said during the press conference.
“It became overwhelmingly clear that Coach Harbaugh was the man for this job,” Mr. Spanos said. “He will do anything for his players and anything for his team. His drive, his commitment to winning, is unparalleled. He’s able to instill a confidence and a competitiveness that are needed to win at this level.”
Then Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium in Mich., on April 1, 2023. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media)
The immediate priority, Mr. Harbaugh said, will be assembling a coaching staff. He has already communicated, by either telephone or text, with most of the team’s players and cited their eagerness to get to work.
Quarterback Justin Herbert, Mr. Harbaugh said, “is a crown jewel in the National Football League” and “an enormous talent.”
While expressing love for Michigan, his alma mater, on multiple occasions, Mr. Harbaugh said the time was simply right for a return to the NFL.
“I only have so many sands left in the hourglass,” he said. “I want another shot – to simply be known as World Champions, [win] the Lombardi Trophy. That’s my mission. This opportunity and challenge are what I wanted.”
Mr. Harbaugh has built a well-deserved reputation for embracing physical football teams. He vowed that will not change.
“Don’t let the powder blues fool you,” he said, referencing the Chargers’ uniforms. “We’re going to aspire to be a team that [legendary Green Bay Packers Coach] Vince Lombardi could be proud of – blocking, tackling, toughness, playing smart, playing fast, playing physical. I know a lot has changed since I was in the NFL. One thing I’m pretty sure hasn’t changed is you have to win. That’s what we’re attacking.”
Justin Herbert (10) of the Los Angeles Chargers throws a pass in the second quarter against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., on Dec. 23, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Mr. Harbaugh spent the past nine years at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to an 86–25 record, with Big Ten Conference championships and College Football Playoff appearances in each of his final three seasons.
The Wolverines capped Mr. Harbaugh’s tenure this past season by going 15–0 and winning the national title with a 34–13 victory over Washington on Jan. 8 in Houston.
The final year in Ann Arbor was not without controversy, however. Mr. Harbaugh served two separate three-game suspensions, one imposed by the university for recruiting violations and the other handed down by the NCAA as part of an investigation into a sign-stealing scandal.
A former Wolverines player, Mr. Harbaugh was a first-team All-America quarterback and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting in 1986. He went on to play for five organizations during 15 seasons in the NFL, including with the Chargers in 1999 and 2000.
Named the Associated Press NFL coach of the year after leading San Francisco to a 13–3 record and the NFC West division title in his first season, Mr. Harbaugh guided the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship Games.
In the only Super Bowl matchup ever matching brothers as head coaches on opposite sides, John’s Ravens beat Jim’s 49ers to cap the 2012 season.
Mr. Harbaugh owns coaching records of 49–22–1 in the NFL and 144–52 in college. He went 29–6 at the University of San Diego from 2004-06, and 29–21 at Stanford from 2007-10.
A graduate of nearby Palo Alto High School, Mr. Harbaugh inherited a Cardinal program that had gone 1–11 in 2006. By his final season, Stanford finished 12–1 and won an Orange Bowl championship.
Mr. Harbaugh began his coaching career during the final eight seasons of his playing career, serving as an unpaid assistant under his father, Jack Harbaugh, at Western Kentucky University. Mr. Harbaugh’s duties at that time consisted primarily of being an offensive consultant, scout, and recruiter. His first full-time coaching job was as an assistant with the then-Oakland Raiders from 2002-03.
