Jim Harbaugh Isn't for Everybody, but He's Perfect for the Chargers
Jim Harbaugh bluntly told the Los Angeles Chargers during one of his interviews that he has the worst poker face. What you see is what you get, literally.
It’s certainly not what you hear, because while Harbaugh can tell you a story about his recent trip to Home Depot, his facial expressions clearly show that his mind is elsewhere, like helping Justin Herbert, his crown jewel, become a league MVP and Super Bowl champion.
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Let’s get that straight. It’s what you see, not what you hear, or an agitated Harbaugh might share the definition of reading comprehension. His fiery side briefly appeared Thursday during his introductory news conference as the Chargers’ new head coach. I was waiting for that side to arrive because 60 minutes of being chummy with local reporters is not what I remember from his four seasons as the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach.
It’s been nine years since Harbaugh last coached in the NFL. I don’t follow college football closely, so I was genuinely curious to see how much he has changed in front of a podium after spending the past decade coaching at Michigan, where he had plenty of success, including winning the national title last month.
Everywhere Harbaugh has coached as the head honcho, he has successfully turned the operation into a winning one, from the University of San Diego to Stanford to the 49ers. Harbaugh, 60, guided San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII, but his team lost to his older brother’s team, John’s Baltimore Ravens.
“I want another shot,” said the younger Harbaugh about why he returned to the NFL. “To simply be known as world champions.”
Nine years after his last stint in the NFL, Harbaugh returns to the professional ranks to coach the Chargers.
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Harbaugh has unfinished business in the pro ranks, but his fiery side that briefly appeared Thursday made it obvious he has another reason for returning after nearly a decade away. Harbaugh was a bit snippy when a reporter asked about the power structure with the Chargers, while also reminding him of his well documented disagreements with 49ers brass.
Perhaps Harbaugh also returned to change the narrative that his militant style doesn’t work in the NFL after a few years. Harbaugh helped the 49ers reach the postseason three consecutive seasons before it fell apart in the fourth year, as stories emerged of a “toxic locker room” in San Francisco.
“Don’t believe everything you read,” Harbaugh said. “I remember in sixth grade, my English teacher came in and presented this concept on critical reading. I wonder how many people really look at that definition … That was an awesome time, San Francisco.”
That’s the Harbaugh that I remember. Extremely enthusiastic but stern and often quick to the point. (I studied his mannerisms when I was tasked with listening to his daily 49ers pressers and transcribing notable quotes while working the news desk at the old NFL Network offices in 2014.)
Nothing wrong with Harbaugh sharing lengthy stories and spending five minutes talking about his plans to live out of an RV in a trailer park near the Chargers’ facilities in Orange County. But that’s not why the Chargers went all in to hire Harbaugh.
He’s an expert at helping players maximize their potential. His methods, however, aren’t for everyone, and some might even say that he’s a bit of a jerk because he finds ways to get under people’s skin to see how they react under uncomfortable circumstances.
Most notably, Harbaugh did that to Alex Smith to help him revive his career in San Francisco after many viewed him as a bust due to six rough seasons after the team made him the No. 1 pick in 2005. Smith recently said on ESPN airwaves that he would still run through a wall for Harbaugh, even though he benched him in ’13 in favor of Colin Kaepernick, who sparked the 49ers’ Super Bowl appearance.
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Most people have had run-ins with Harbaugh-like personalities, and in most cases, it turns out for the better. For me, I remember dreading going into the newsroom on Tuesday nights for one of the newspapers I worked at in my early 20s. I feared I wouldn’t meet the perfect standard of one of my old-school editors. If he noticed I didn’t catch a mistake while proofreading one of the stories that was scheduled to go in print the following morning, he would give me an earful.
That went on for the first few months, but then the errors stopped. I was a copy editing machine and I developed a close relationship with that editor because he prepared me for life as an NFL reporter. He was a pain in my behind, but I’m so grateful that he gave me that tough love.
That’s what the Chargers want Harbaugh to do with Herbert, who has all the physical tools to play as well as Patrick Mahomes. He’s had his moments of brilliance because he’s also supremely smart on the field. Even then, that hasn’t been good enough during Herbert’s first four seasons. The Chargers have only made the postseason once since selecting Herbert No. 6 in 2020.
Now here comes the hard ass who loves to share his one liners. Enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Let’s make it a great day.
And, of course, his most popular saying: Who’s got it better than us? Nobody!
Harbaugh was on his A-game when it came to winning the news conference. He shared all his popular sayings during his reintroduction to NFL media. He’s still the same guy from his 49ers days.
Now the real work starts, and not many will like the early stages of how Harbaugh builds an NFL roster. But Chargers players and local reporters will be fine—as long as they sharpen those reading comprehension skills.
