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Jeremy Fowler, senior NFL national reporter
The Los Angeles Chargers landed arguably the top candidate Wednesday in the coaching cycle: Jim Harbaugh, a man who has turned around every team he’s coached.
The past two decades bear it out:
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Went to the University of San Diego in 2004. Within three years, back-to-back 11-win seasons.
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Went to Stanford in 2007. Within four years, a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl victory.
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Went to the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, immediately rattled off three double-digit-win seasons and a Super Bowl appearance.
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And over nine years at Michigan: Three 10-win seasons out of four, then a lull, a near-firing … followed by a three-year stretch of dominance culminating in a national title.
A coaching convention would be fortunate to collectively have these numbers.
And now Harbaugh’s tasked with building a winner in Los Angeles, which has an elite quarterback and a history of decent seasons but no championship hardware to show for it — along with fresh memories of clumsy finishes, high injury rates and a culture of Chargering.
The AFC West just got infinitely more interesting, with a Harbaugh-Justin Herbert duo facing off with the Chiefs’ Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes twice a year, to go along with the optimism of the Sean Payton era in Denver and Antonio Pierce’s galvanizing presence in Las Vegas.
But the job doesn’t come without questions, for both sides.
Why Harbaugh’s stint in San Francisco ended, and how that applies to the Chargers
Harbaugh’s four-year run as coach of the 49ers, with a 49-22-1 record, ended more abruptly than it probably should have.