Jim Harbaugh has done an excellent job of turning around the LA Chargers and did so much faster than anyone could have expected. Just one year after going 5-12, the Chargers are 8-4 and are in prime position to make the NFL Playoffs.
Harbaugh has more than proven why he was fans' dream target heading into the 2024 offseason. The veteran head coach has done the same thing in Los Angeles that he has done everywhere else in his coaching career. Now, a Super Bowl is actually in the picture in the next several years with Harbaugh and Justin Herbert.
Harbaugh could have teamed up with a different franchise quarterback, however. In addition to interviewing for the Atlanta Falcons job, Harbaugh may have also had interest in the Chicago Bears job. According to Chicago broadcaster Dan McNeil, Harbaugh expressed interest in the Bears only for that interest to be squashed by Bears president Kevin Warren.
McNeil is not the only one who is reporting this story as true, either. Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi told The Pat McAfee Show that the Bears story is true, and that Harbaugh was also interested in the Las Vegas Raiders job.
"Kevin Warren is running that Chicago Bears team and that story about Jim Harbaugh is completely true..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 5, 2024
Jim Harbaugh would've loved to worked for the Bears and Raiders but neither team decided to go after him" ~ @mlombardiNFL #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/uXLdPrGScP
NFL Rumors: Jim Harbaugh had interest in Bears and Raiders jobs in addition Chargers
Unless it comes from one of the top NFL insiders or Harbaugh himself, it is impossible to confirm the validity of these NFL rumors. That's not to say that McNeil or Lombardi are lying, but they could be fed information that does not paint the entire picture.
There were rumblings around both the Bears and Raiders when Harbaugh was weighing his future earlier this year. Chicago was the particularly interesting team, as Harbaugh would have been able to coach first-overall pick Caleb Williams on a team that had enough cap space for him to bring in players he wanted.
The biggest problem with that job was always Warren, who previously served as the commissioner of the Big Ten. Warren and Harbaugh were not too fond of each other when their paths intersected in the Big Ten, so it is not absurd to think Warren could have blocked that from happening.
The Raiders job makes less sense on paper but Harbaugh could have made moves to draft Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, so there is at least some reason to think he would be interested. But that was never even in the cards with Vegas committing to Antonio Pierce.
Let's not forget, though, that Harbaugh loved to play the media game before being hired by the Chargers. The "will he, won't he?" of his NFL return went on for years with several fanbases actually thinking they had a chance. Any information around Harbaugh's job search shouldn't be taken as gospel as it could have been "leaked" to give him more leverage in his negotiations.
Plus, saying Harbaugh "would have loved" to work for either team does not mean he preferred them over the Chargers. Both of those jobs would have presented its own set of pros and cons, just like the Chargers job.
Regardless of how true these NFL rumors are or if they are merely one side of the story, the fact of the matter is Harbaugh landed exactly where he needed to be on the LA Chargers.