The rumors of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh heading to the Los Angeles Chargers are not going to die down after this most-recent report.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Harbaugh is slated to interview with the Chargers next week. It will represent his first interview since the head coach led the Wolverines to the national title earlier in January.
The fact that Harbaugh is interviewing with the Chargers shouldn’t be seen as too much of a surprise. He’s been linked to Los Angeles since the team fired Brandon Staley during the 2023 season.
However, Rapoport’s report adds another interesting layer to this. He indicates that the Chargers would look to pair Harbaugh with a general manager he could work with. Whether this means hiring Harbaugh before a GM to replace the recently-fired Tom Telesco remains to be seen. But that does seem to be part of the conversation behind the scenes.
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Harbaugh’s otherwise brilliant four-year run with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14 was also defined by some major internal strife. That included issues between Harbaugh, general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York. This could be Los Angeles’ way of both insulating itself and appeasing Harbaugh.
Things Trending in Direction of Jim Harbaugh Heading To Los Angeles Chargers
Being the first to interview Harbaugh is not a clear tell. We’d be lying if we told you that was the case. But Harbaugh to the Chargers always made sense.
First off, teaming him up with a franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert seems to be ideal. Harbaugh worked wonders with Andrew Luck at Stanford, Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers and J.J. McCarthy in Ann Arbor. It has to be a goal of the Chargers’ power elite to get the most out of Herbert after handing him such a lucrative contract extension ahead of the 2023 season.
Harbaugh also has a history with the Chargers in that he finished up his playing career with the team. That can’t be lost in all of this.
As for a potential GM pairing, Tom Gamble would make a ton of sense. He is currently the Michigan director of player personnel. Gamble spent four seasons with Harbaugh in San Francisco. His highest ranking job in San Francisco came as assistant general manager.