1/25/24 - Jim Harbaugh To Leave Michigan For Los Angeles Chargers

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh will become the next coach for the L.A. Chargers.

LOS ANGELES — (Associated Press) -   Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday and apparently signed a five-year deal.

He will be the first former Chargers player to return to the team as head coach. He played for the Bolts in 1999-2000 before retiring following the 2001 season.

Harbaugh was 86-25 at Michigan. 

“My love for Michigan, playing there and coming back to coach there leaves a lasting impact. I’ll always be a loyal Wolverine,” Harbaugh said in a statement. “I’m remarkably fortunate to have been afforded the privilege of coaching at places where life’s journey has created strong personal connections for me. When I played for the Chargers, the Spanos family could not have been more gracious or more welcoming".

Harbaugh is the first coach in 26 seasons to win a national title and not return to the school the following season. Harbaugh called Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel to inform him he was leaving to lead the Chargers. Manuel may promote Sherrone Moore to replace Harbaugh after the offensive coordinator filled in for him during the final three games of the regular season when he was suspended by the Big Ten .

Harbaugh returned to Michigan, where he was a star quarterback in the mid-1980s, in 2015 after going 44-19 over four years in San Francisco.