JJ McCarthy reacts to Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan for NFL, Los Angeles Chargers
Michigan players have begun reacting to their now-former head coach Jim Harbaugh leaving Ann Arbor to take the same job for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Not many players Harbaugh had coached at Michigan did more for the Wolverines than J.J. McCarthy did. He posted to social media to thank his former headman and wish him well in his future NFL endeavors.
Check out the Michigan quarterback’s post on X below:
Under Harbaugh’s guide, McCarthy was wildly successful as a starting quarterback for Michigan. Taking over the job after winning an open competition with Cade McNamara before the 2022 season, he led Michigan to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons with consecutive wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten titles and two College Football Playoff berths. The only loss as a starting quarterback he suffered while at Michigan was at the CFP in 2022.
Overall, in nearly two seasons as the starter, McCarthy has been a highly efficient but low-volume passer, relative to other top quarterbacks. He completed 64.6 percent of his 322 attempts in 2022 for 2719 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He bumped up his completion percentage to 74.2 percent in 2023 on 287 pass attempts for 2630 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.
It’s safe to say Harbaugh got the most out of his starting QB during the short time the two had together. Now, both are off to the NFL after Harbaugh signed a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers while McCarthy has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.
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With McCarthy under center, the fact that Harbaugh was able to accomplish everything there is to do as a head coach in college football likely made the deal to the Chargers a bit easier for Harbaugh in the end. His QB is leaving along with other key players at different positions — but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter — his final decision all came down to the fact that coaching in college will never bring him one thing: a Super Bowl victory.
More than 10 years have passed since Jim Harbaugh battled his brother, John’s, Baltimore Ravens to a 34-31 Super Bowl XLVII loss to conclude the 2012-13 season. Jim never made it back to the big game and left the NFL to coach at Michigan within the next couple of seasons.
Jim Harbaugh’s ultimate goal as a head coach remains unfulfilled and with a roster like Los Angeles’, which features someone under center like Justin Herbert — that final destination for him could be closer than the Chargers’ 5-12 record in 2023 would leave you to suggest.