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Jim Harbaugh is headed back to the NFL, this time as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” the Chargers posted to X on Wednesday.
The announcement comes on the heels of an ultra-successful season in which Harbaugh led the University of Michigan to their first national championship since 1997 and after a nine-year stint as the wolverines’ head coach.
“Jim Harbaugh is football personified, and I can think of no one better to lead the Chargers forward,” Chargers owner and chairman Dean Spanos said in a statement.
“The son of a coach, brother of a coach and father of a coach who himself was coached by names like (Glenn Edward “Bo”) Schembechler and (Mike) Ditka, for the past two decades Jim has led hundreds of men to success everywhere he’s been — as their coach,” the statement read. “And today, Jim Harbaugh returns to the Chargers, this time as our coach. Who has it better than us?”
Harbaugh’s final season with Michigan was not without drama. Harbaugh was caught in the middle of a sign stealing scandal and resulting investigation that saw him sit out the season’s last three regular season games.
Harbaugh’s new position confirms swirling rumors that he would take his talents to the NFL once again.
Harbaugh clinched the head coaching position after two interviews with the West Coast team, an NFL press release said.
The Chargers sacked their previous head coach and general manager after a brutal 63-21 beating by the Las Vegas Raiders last month.
Harbaugh first met with the team a month later, on Jan. 15, according to The Associated Press, making him the eighth of 15 candidates to meet with team owner Dean Spanos and his family to try their hand at the role.
He was the only one to get a second interview, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, Harbaugh was playing the field. He took an interview with the Atlanta Falcons on Jan. 16 and scheduled a second interview with the team before committing to the Chargers, the AP reported.
Harbaugh’s new role makes him the first Charger to return to the team as head coach, the AP reported.
He wrapped up his playing career as quarterback for the Bolts during the 1999 and 2000 seasons before retiring in 2001.
In his lengthy NFL career, the quarterback also played for the Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2001 season but did not play a game there.
After he wrapped up his time as a quarterback, Harbaugh made the shift to coaching. His most notable coaching stint was with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014.
Harbaugh’s time with the 49ers earned him his first Super Bowl appearance as a head coach, resulting in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens and his brother, head coach John Harbaugh.
Harbaugh’s on-field talents were first recognized when he started his football career at the University of Michigan. He returned to coach the Wolverines for the 2015 season with hopes of turning around the winningest college football program ever.
Coming off a 5-12 season, the Chargers will hope Harbaugh does the same for them, with the help of quarterback Justin Herbert.
