Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh opens up 2024 season as a co-favorite for Coach of the Year

Coming off of his national title at Michigan, oddsmakers are clearly buying what LA Chargers' HC Jim Harbaugh is selling. Harbaugh has opened up at +850 to win NFL Coach of the Year at DraftKings. That figure is tied with Chicago Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus for the best odds to win the award.

Harbaugh opening as a co-favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year shouldn't surprise anyone. He's had some level of initial success at every coaching stop he's made. At the University of San Diego, he had two back-to-back 11-1 seasons to start his head coaching career.

Harbaugh turned Stanford around to the tune of a 12-1 record and eventual Orange Bowl win after taking over when the team was initially coming off a 1-11 season.

Of course, there's also his San Francisco tenure where Harbaugh won 2011 NFL Coach of the Year after taking the Niners from 6-10 to the NFC Championship Game in his first season. Taking over last year's 5-12 Chargers team is certainly starting from a similar place of needed improvement.

All the stars are aligned for Jim Harbaugh to win Coach of the Year with the Chargers

Pro Football Focus' 2024 strength of schedule forecast also has relatively good news for both Harbaugh and the Chargers. Based on their PFF ELO-enhanced forecast, Los Angeles' schedule is ranked as the second easiest in the league.

Assuming Harbaugh can take advantage of some easier games early on, it's certainly not a far-fetched path toward a potential second Coach of the Year award.

Coach of the Year for Harbaugh certainly seems reasonable if the over/under line for the Chargers is accurate as well. The Chargers' win total is set at 8.5 wins over at DraftKings. Even if LA barely crosses the over at nine wins, that would still be a four game improvement over their record last season. A playoff trip at say nine or ten wins would also certainly help Harbaugh's matters in competing for the award.

With success at both the pro and college levels, Harbaugh brings a unique element to his second NFL coaching stint that stands out. He has the background of being both a former college and NFL player. Harbaugh played in the NFL for 14 seasons after being drafted in the first round. In terms of his connection with players and shifting of a "losing" culture, he's certainly making an impression early.

Very few first-year NFL coaches also walk into a circumstance where the quarterback position is fully figured out. Even with the rest of the roster in a bit of a transition state, having Justin Herbert as the signal caller is a huge positive asset for Harbaugh.

Harbaugh's Chargers will kickoff the season against the Raiders on September 8th at SoFi Stadium.