The Los Angeles Chargers, who finished the 2023 season with a dismal 5-12 record, announced the hiring of the University of Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh as the team’s next coach.
“Jim Harbaugh is football personified, and I can think of no one better to lead the Chargers forward,” team owner/chairman Dean Spanos said in a statement. “The son of a coach, brother of a coach and father of a coach who himself was coached by names like Schembechler and Ditka, for the past two decades Jim has led hundreds of men to success everywhere he’s been — as their coach. And today, Jim Harbaugh returns to the Chargers, this time as our coach. Who has it better than us?”
Harbaugh, 60, won a national championship this season with the Wolverines. He has coached Michigan — his alma mater — since 2015. He was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14 — taking the team to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season — and was a quarterbacks coach with the Oakland Raiders in 2002-03. Between those gigs, he was head coach at the University of San Diego and at Stanford.
“My love for Michigan, playing there and coming back to coach there, leaves a lasting impact. I’ll always be a loyal Wolverine,” Harbaugh said in a statement. “I’m remarkably fortunate to have been afforded the privilege of coaching at places where life’s journey has created strong personal connections for me. From working as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky alongside my father, Jack, and time as an assistant with the Raiders, to being a head coach at USD, Stanford, the 49ers and Michigan — each of those opportunities carried significance, each felt personal. When I played for the Chargers, the Spanos family could not have been more gracious or more welcoming. Being back here feels like home, and it’s great to see that those things haven’t changed.”
Harbaugh’s championship season with Michigan was marred by a pair of three-game suspensions he served. The first was a self-imposed suspension at the beginning of the season for alleged recruiting violations, while the second came at the end of the season due to a Big Ten sign-stealing probe. The NCAA’s investigation into the sign-stealing scandal continues, with Michigan and Harbaugh still facing additional possible sanctions.
Harbaugh’s brother, John, is head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, the AFC’s top seed and a Super Bowl favorite this year.
Harbaugh will replace Brandon Staley, who was fired in mid-December as the Chargers season continued to unravel. General Manager Tom Telesco was also fired.
Staley was hired by the Chargers in 2021, accumulating a record of 24-24 in that time. Telesco has been the general manager since 2013.
The Chargers have had high expectations since quarterback Justin Herbert took over the offense, but the team has persistently under-performed. The team has not appeared in a playoff game since 2018.
In his statement Wednesday, Harbaugh acknowledged the team’s struggles.
“The only job you start at the top is digging a hole, so we know we’ve got to earn our way,” he said. “Be better today than yesterday. Be better tomorrow than today. My priorities are faith, family and football, and we are going to attack each with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. This organization is putting in the work — investing capital, building infrastructure and doing everything within its power to win. Great effort equals great results, and we’re just getting started.”