This was the move the Chargers NEEDED to make. The Los Angeles Chargers have finally decided to join the “big kids” club again with their NFL head coach as they have hired reigning National Champion Jim Harbaugh to be the next coach.
This is just a great move all-round.
With the Chargers having so many pieces to contend yet always failing at their head coaching hires, the team has at LONG LAST seen reason as they have hired Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to be their next coach. And, if you couldn’t tell, I think this is a FANTASTIC move for the team.
What a day this must be for a Chargers fan!
Now, I know saying this would have sounded like utter nonsense just four years ago, but the Chargers signing Jim Harbaugh to be their next head coach is perhaps the greatest move the franchise has made since…well, maybe ever! That’s how much I love this hire.
Sure, I get that Jim Harbaugh’s stock is SKY HIGH right now given the fact he is coming off a perfect (15-0) National Championship-winning season with the Michigan Wolverines, yet that’s only part of the reason why I think this is such a brilliant move for the Chargers.
The Chargers have been an utterly incompetent organization for practically all of their existence as they not only have failed to win with multiple HOF-caliber quarterbacks (ex: Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, and Dan Fouts…for whom the latter two are HOFers), but they have also had some of the worst head coaches imaginable.
At lot of these issues do ultimately fall at the feet of owner Dean Spanos (because he’s horrific) for picking these guys but having Mike Riley (1999-2001: 14-34 record) Norv Turner (2007-2012: 114-122-1 record), Mike McCoy (2013-2016: 27-37 record), Anthony Lynn (2017-2020: 33-32-1 record), and Brandon Staley (2021-2023: 24-24 record) as your head coaches throughout the 21st century is downright criminal.
Only Marty Schottenheimer (2002-2006: 47-33 record with Chargers) was competent enough to run this franchise, and he was unceremoniously fired after a 14-2 season!
Anyway, back to what I was saying, the Chargers have really struggled in the past 25 years to find a competent head coach (who isn’t needlessly fired by their moronic owner) to run this franchise, and bringing in a guy like Jim Harbaugh was the only move that really made sense to me.
Winning the National Championship is obviously the greatest college football achievement a head coach could aspire to have; but with legendary college head coaches like Nick Saban (won his 1st National Championship in 2003 with LSU) and Urban Meyer (won his National Championship in 2014) failing at the NFL level AFTER THEY WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, it’s clear that winning in college is not translatable to winning in the NFL.
But that’s not a worry for Jim Harbaugh as he’s now proven he can do both!
In four seasons with the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh already proved he could dominate at the NFL level as a head coach as he went 44-19-1 in 4 seasons with three 10+ win seasons, one NFC West division title (2012), he reached three straight NFC championship games (2011-13), he never had a losing season (his 8-8 record in 2014 was his worst season in the NFL), and he was a missed PI call away from being a Super Bowl champion with the 49ers in 2012.
Oh, and don’t forget that he did all of this IN THE SAME DIVSION AS LEGION OF BOOM! Yes, Jim Harbaugh went toe-to-toe with the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom and nearly had as much success as that all-time great defensive unit.
Nevertheless, the big knock against Harbaugh was that he could never get it done in the biggest of moments with both the 49ers and Michigan, yet this season has shattered that notion as his Wolverines side destroyed teams left, right, and center to be the first National Champion outside the SEC in 5 seasons.
So, with a franchise QB in Justin Herbert, a solid defense led by resurgent All-Pro Khalil Mack, a Top-10 pick, and amazing pieces on both sides of the football (aka: Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Derwin James, and Joey Bosa), I really think Jim Harbaugh can be the one to stop the Chiefs’ dominance in the AFC West and finally bring a Super Bowl title to the Chargers.
Okay…that felt weird to write, but it’s never been more plausible that the LA Chargers could win a Super Bowl than right now.
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