The LA Chargers head coaching job looks like the most lucrative opening in the NFL ahead of 2024 in large part due to Justin Herbert. Sure, there are some hang-ups with the job (including the salary-cap situation for 2024), but with a franchise quarterback, a huge market, and a fresh start in the front office, it is hard not to love the Chargers job as a prospective head coach.
With the Chargers job being the best opening in the business the team has naturally been tied to the biggest names. One of those names is current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has ties to the organization from his playing days.
Rumors have run rampant around Harbaugh and his future. Whether it be confirmed interest from the Chargers or the reported price that Michigan is willing to pay on an extension, there have definitely been some media tactics from the Chargers, Michigan, and likely even Harbaugh's camp.
Harbaugh himself hadn't said anything about the speculation but that changed on Wednesday. During his media availability ahead of the Rose Bowl (part of the College Football Playoff), Harbaugh was specifically asked about the NFL rumors as well as the rumors tying him to the Chargers.
Video: @chengelis asking Jim Harbaugh about NFL rumors and me asking about #Chargers pic.twitter.com/3p4EO1RD0p
— Joe Reedy (@joereedy) December 27, 2023
Jim Harbaugh finally responds to Chargers rumors... and says nothing
Well, did you expect there to be any other answer? Fans have been clamoring for the Rose Bowl that way Harbaugh could get in front of reporters and have to talk about all of the speculation in the football world. But alas, the expectations once again exceeded the reality.
This is not pro wrestling. Harbaugh was never going to cut a promo about how he could lead a team to the National Championship in college and the Super Bowl in the NFL. That Michigan was going to have to pay up for his services. That the Chargers job intrigued him.
Harbaugh gave the most media-trained answer imaginable and that is what fans should have expected all along. His focus truly is on winning the National Championship with Michigan and any talk of the NFL would have been a distraction for him and his players.
This response shouldn't worry Chargers fans, though, as this was to be expected. Harbaugh dancing around the question and not giving a real answer doesn't mean that there is no interest there. If anything, the fact that he would not concretely say that his future is in Michigan might have been promising more than anything else for the Bolts.
Regardless, the only thing on Harbaugh's mind right now is winning the Rose Bowl against Alabama and eventually winning the National Championship. Once that is over, the real conversations around Harbaugh and the Chargers can begin.
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