Chargers' Jim Harbaugh has one wish about John Harbaugh's next job

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was always going to get lobbed questions about the Baltimore Ravens' decision to part ways with his brother, John, this week.

Jim, ahead of his Chargers' playoff game against the New England Patriots, was always going to dip deep into his bag of Harbaughisms to address the topic.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Harbaugh said this of John: “He’s the best coach I’ve ever seen.”

High, expected praise, of course. In a funny little twist, Harbaugh also made it clear that he hopes his brother’s next landing spot is in the NFC, not his AFC.

“As I told him, whatever team he goes to is going to be formidable,” Harbaugh said. “I just hope it’s in the NFC.”

The Chargers head coach might just luck out, too. As of this writing, the New York Giants look to be one of the teams in the running for John Harbaugh as the head-coach hiring cycle really gets rolling.

But there’s bad news for Jim, too: The Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins are two other names hot on the rumor mill right now when it comes to John.

In fact, all kidding aside, Jim and the Chargers could end up suffering a double-whammy of sorts: John could very well join an AFC team and hire current Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander as his general manager at his new stop, given the past Baltimore connections and proven track record there.

The Athletic's Daniel Popper was one of many to catch Harbaugh's comments during his weekly presser before the playoff game:

Jim Harbaugh on John Harbaugh being let go by the Ravens: "John Harbaugh is the best coach I know, the best coach I’ve ever seen. ...Whatever team he goes to is going to be formidable, and I just hope it’s in the NFC."

Harbaugh added: "He’ll be a head coach next year."
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) January 7, 2026

The Chargers can’t do much about that right now, of course, and are far more focused on doing whatever they can to hit the road and pull off an upset of the AFC’s second-seeded team when they play the Patriots.

Barring serious job movement in the coming days for John, fans probably won’t hear many more thoughts from Jim on the topic ahead of kickoff on Sunday night.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Chargers from Los Angeles Chargers on SI —

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter

More Los Angeles Chargers News:

Chargers vs. Patriots early NFL playoff prediction offers a shocker

Justin Herbert could drag Chargers to a historic feat in playoffs

Should Chargers risk lineup changes after free-agent signing, unexpected showings?

Chargers mock draft goes huge to protect Justin Herbert before NFL playoffs