Chargers News: Jim Harbaugh Literally Fought For His Players As A Bolt
New Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was once a San Diego Chargers quarterback, during the final stages of a Pro Bowl NFL career.
According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, Harbaugh found a way to harness the fiery personality that would become his trademark as a head coach.
During a disagreement caught by TV cameras during a game against the then-Oakland Raiders, in which the Bolta trailed 21-3 in the third quarter, Harbaugh got into a disagreement with colleague Mike Dumas.
“Mike said something,” Riley said. “Jim took offense to it.”
“It’s really embarrassing us as a team,” then-teammate/future Hall of Famer Junior Seau said then. “We don’t like to see any of our players and family members having a conversation like that in front of millions of people. It doesn’t need to be like that. We don’t need to expose our dirty laundry out there on the street.”
Harbaugh’s comrades on offense saw things differently.
“You appreciate that, especially as an offensive line,” Parker said. “You still wanted to give a great effort for someone who was in it like you were.”
Oakland would go on to win 28-9.
Per Riley, what cameras picked up on the broadcast was just the tip of the iceberg. After the game, away from the public, they really laid into each other.
“They held themselves off until they got underneath the stadium [at Oakland Coliseum] and the seats before they actually went at it,” Riley said, which purportedly including facemask grabs and fisticuffs.
“Jim was not going to back down to anything,” Riley said. “That’s kind of his M.O. He’s ready for the fight, whatever it is.”
