Los Angeles’ most faceless and fanless team has landed a superstar. The NFL is a failsafe league. All of its television rights are national — as well as massive — and the roster construction is limited by a hard salary cap. The Los Angeles Chargers may not be hurting financially, but they are a third-rate NFL franchise. They play in a stadium that a different franchise funded and have, by far, the weakest fanbase in the league. When they played home games at the 27,000-seat Stubhub Center, selling that place out was a struggle. Los Angeles has no connection to this franchise that played in San Diego for more than half a century. This franchise needed a spark and they went for a flamethrower by bringing in Jim Harbaugh.
On Wednesday evening, the Chargers announced that he is the new head coach of the team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that it is a five-year deal. Two weeks ago, Harbaugh led Michigan to its first outright College Football National Championship since before Dwight Eisenhower was elected president. Per the Detroit News’ Angelique Chengelis, the school was not willing to meet the terms for a new deal that Harbaugh’s representatives presented in late 2023 until the late stages of his negotiation with the Chargers.
For Michigan to refuse any of Harbaugh’s requests is a move of foolish pride. As head coach, his Wolverines have defeated Ohio State three years in a row — two of those with the spectacular CJ Stroud quarterbacking the Buckeyes — and won a national title. Of all college football boosters, certainly Michigan’s weren’t hurting for money. They played hardball and now maybe Sherrone “colorblind” Moore will get the job.
By hiring Harbaugh, the Chargers finally have a personality who can command some headlines in Los Angeles. Harbaugh may not be the Hollywood type — Mastro’s better have some milk ready when the coach comes by for a meal — but he will not be arriving quietly. He and his forceful, beef-starting hand shakes will be thundering into the Chargers’ El Segundo facility.
He is most certainly a character, which is necessary in that corner of the world. Pro sports stars such as Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Pat Riley, Bo Jackson, David Beckham, those are the types who get the juices of the people in LA flowing. Winning is important, but doing so with style is how to win over the town.
Obviously, Harbaugh does not have a Met Gala-level fashion sense, but he is a one-of-one. A sentence from Harbaugh’s prepared statement about his new job: “The only job you start at the top is digging a hole, so we know we’ve got to earn our way.”
Yes, that is the energy that is headed to Los Angeles. It is certainly not a Rodeo Drive glamorous, but maybe it is exactly the kick in the rear end that the Chargers need. They have played in 23 one-possession games over the last two seasons. This is a problem that goes back years. Former quarterback Philip Rivers has the most one-score losses of any quarterback in the Super Bowl era.
The Chargers moved a couple of hours upstate under dubious circumstances. San Diego was not going to build a new stadium, so they tagged along with the Rams as the No. 2 pro football team in a market that had none for 20 years. The Chargers didn’t even have memories of a Deacon Jones or Eric Dickerson with which to drape the fans in nostalgia. They played in LA only for their debut AFL season in 1960.
No other NFL franchise was in as much need of a charge as the Chargers. They got it. by landing old steak with a glass of milk himself. One thing is for certain, the LA Chargers have rid the listlessness from their franchise.
