Jim Harbaugh's QB History Could Help Solidify Justin Herbert's Reputation

The Los Angeles Chargers officially hired Jim Harbaugh, who led the University of Michigan to the College Football Playoff national title earlier this month, as their next head coach on Wednesday night in a move that could prove beneficial for the organization's biggest star.

Quarterback Justin Herbert is coming off perhaps his worst statistical season in the NFL—one which was hampered by a finger injury. Harbaugh, a former Chargers QB himself, faces plenty of challenges in his return to the NFL. The task of turning around a 5-12 team with salary cap concerns in a division that features Patrick Mahomes won't be easy. But furthering the development of the franchise's current signal-caller may be priority No. 1.

And the Bolts believe they got the coach to do it.

"Jim Harbaugh is football personified, and I can think of no one better to lead the Chargers forward," Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement announcing the hire. "The son of a coach, brother of a coach and father of a coach who himself was coached by names like Schembechler and Ditka, for the past two decades Jim has led hundreds of men to success everywhere he's been—as their coach. And today, Jim Harbaugh returns to the Chargers, this time as our coach. Who has it better than us?"

Harbaugh's typical answer to that now-prominent question? Nobody. And in Los Angeles' case, there may have been no better coach this hiring cycle to pair with its 25-year-old QB.

In his previous stint as an NFL head coach, Harbaugh went 44-19-1 over four years with the San Francisco 49ers. That tenure included three NFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl. Sandwiching his time with the Niners were head coaching roles at Stanford and his alma mater, Michigan, where over a combined 13-year stretch he won 72 percent of his games at the two schools. But Harbaugh doesn't just win wherever he goes, the 60-year-old also has a history of getting the most out of his quarterbacks at each stop.

At Stanford, Harbaugh helped turn Andrew Luck into the No. 1 pick. With the 49ers, he revived Alex Smith's—at the time—underwhelming NFL career, then won with Colin Kaepernick as a dual-threat quarterback the league had rarely seen at that point. And lately, J.J. McCarthy has become the greatest QB in Michigan history—in Harbaugh's (and Tom Brady's) words.

Time to see what Harbaugh will do with Herbert and the Chargers.

"The only job you start at the top is digging a hole, so we know we've got to earn our way," Harbaugh said in a statement. "Be better today than yesterday. Be better tomorrow than today. My priorities are faith, family and football, and we are going to attack each with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. This organization is putting in the work — investing capital, building infrastructure and doing everything within its power to win. Great effort equals great results, and we're just getting started."

Herbert is off to one of the most prolific starts of the career of any NFL QB. The former sixth-overall pick, who signed a $262.5 million extension last offseason, has the most passing yards and is tied (with Mahomes) for the second-most passing touchdowns of any player through their first four seasons in league history.

The 2023 season, though, was a frustrating one for the former Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were both fired midseason. Herbert played a career-low 13 games. And when he was on the field, the Pro Bowler set personal worsts in a variety of categories, including completion percentage, passing yards per game, touchdowns, and passer rating (tied for lowest).

But Harbaugh is well-equipped to make sure the 2024 season is a bounce-back campaign for Herbert, according to Heisman Trophy winning-QB and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III.

"RGIII" said on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the hire that Harbaugh may be the "best thing that's ever happened" to Herbert, pointing to the coach's roster-building ability and track record of making things easier on QBs. Another former NFL quarterback, Dan Orlovsky, agreed.

Orlovsky said on ESPN's Get Up Thursday morning that Harbaugh is exactly the offensive-minded coach needed to unlock the next level of Herbert's play. A constant debate among experts and fans alike over the last few years is whether Herbert deserves to be in the discussion with Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and the other elite players under center around the league.

But Harbaugh could make any debate over Herbert as an elite QB a moot one.

"Can he get into that [top-tier] conversation of top-five in the league?" Orlovsky said on ESPN Thursday. "Unequivocally, absolutely yes."