LOS ANGELES — Jim Harbaugh is leaving the national champion Michigan Wolverines to accept the head coaching job with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
Harbaugh was considered among the Chargers’ most desirable candidates in this coaching cycle because of his success at every level. Since his head coaching career began in 2006 at the University of San Diego, Harbaugh has had success at stops at Stanford, Michigan and in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. There’s also Harbaugh’s Chargers connection: he played quarterback for the team for two seasons (1999-2000).
As a collegiate coach, Harbaugh has a 144-42 record, winning three Big Ten championships and Michigan’s first national title since 1997.
He was 86-25 at Michigan and restored college football’s winningest program to relevance after it slipped over several seasons under Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez following the retirement of national-championship winning coach Lloyd Carr.
The rival Ohio State Buckeyes had an eight-game winning streak against the Wolverines until Harbaugh helped them snap the streak in 2021, leading to their first of three straight Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances.
Following two straight losses in the semifinals, extending Harbaugh’s winless streak in bowl games to six, Michigan outlasted Alabama at the Rose Bowl and pulled away from Washington to win the national championship with a school-record 15-0 mark.
Harbaugh spent four seasons (2011-14) as the coach of the 49ers from 2011 to 2014, and he was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in his first season. He led the 49ers to the Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens who were coached by his brother John.
Harbaugh left the 49ers after the 2014 season with a 44-19-1 regular record.
The Chargers are scheduled to play the Ravens next season at SoFi Stadium, which now officially will be a matchup between John and Jim Harbaugh.
When Harbaugh took over the 49ers, he was rebuilding a team which had tumbled from the NFL’s elite and missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons.
He will have a similar challenge with the Chargers, who finished 5-12 last season and have three playoff wins since 2008. Another task for Harbaugh will be deciding the construction of the Chargers’ roster next season, as this team is projected to be $27.5 million over the league salary cap, according to ESPN’s roster management system.
Harbaugh and the Chargers had been linked since the offseason began. Still, one of the potential challenges for the Harbaugh-Chargers reunion was if owner Dean Spanos was willing to pay Harbaugh a competitive salary, one that would lure him away from Michigan and other NFL teams.
While the Chargers have signed players to record-breaking contracts, the organization has developed a reputation for not paying coaches. The Spanos’ have denied that claim, with team president John Spanos telling reporters in December that he didn’t know where “narratives came from” and that the team has never had limitations with spending.
The Chargers fired coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco on Dec. 15, following a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.
The Chargers held an extensive search after firing Staley, interviewing a league-high 15 candidates. They began internally with interim head coach Giff Smith and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore before interviewing former Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, Raiders DC Patrick Graham, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, former Titans coach Mike Vrabel, former Stanford coach David Shaw, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Ravens defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald.
Staley finished his 48-game Chargers tenure with a .500 record, with one playoff appearance that ended in a historic loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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