Jim Harbaugh on Los Angeles Chargers: ‘This is where I want to be, nowhere else’

Jim Harbaugh was named as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers last Wednesday after leading the Michigan Wolverines to a national title win in his ninth and final season with the program.

Harbaugh returns to the NFL after spending four seasons as the head man for the San Francisco 49ers between 2011 and 2014, but he also returns to a franchise that he once called home, playing for the Chargers for two seasons during his career as a quarterback.

The Chargers welcomed Harbaugh back with open arms, posting a video on Twitter of their new head coach sporting the powder blue and speaking on his return to the franchise and vision for the team with himself now at the helm.

welcome home, coach pic.twitter.com/PNuVXpSbmk

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 29, 2024

“I know the universe is big, the football universe is big. But it’s really not that big,” Harbaugh said. “Every job I’ve taken at every step of the way in coaching there was a connection there for me. Coming back to the Chargers, the sincerity, it was there. It just felt like home when I came here.”

Harbaugh’s last coaching tenure was with his alma mater, serving as Michigan’s quarterback in the 80s before being selected with the No. 26 overall pick of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

After appearing in games for four different NFL teams and throwing for 26,288 yards and 129 touchdown passes in his lengthy NFL career, Harbaugh transitioned to coaching. But even during his playing career, he served as an unpaid offensive consultant for his father Jack Harbaugh for eight seasons while he was the head coach at Western Kentucky.

His first head coaching gig would be with the University of San Diego and the rest would be history, making stops at Stanford and with the aforementioned 49ers and Wolverines. Turning every program he’s led into a winner and reaching success at all of his head coaching stops.

He’ll now look to achieve that same success with the Chargers, breaking down the desired characteristics of his team and expressing his loyalty to his new franchise.

“It’s gonna be a team, think of a family. There’s gonna be ignitors, there’s gonna be leaders by example, that’s mostly what I do. We’re gonna attack ’em with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind and this is where I want to be, nowhere else,” Harbaugh said.

Jim Harbaugh has already made various coaching hires and the Chargers have several star players who have proven they can make an impact, as all eyes will be on Harbaugh to see if he can work his magic yet again at a new destination.