Mike Riley can laugh about it now: His starting quarterback at the time was struggling with his counterpart.
As Riley, then the Chargers’ coach, recalled, the team was on its way to a fourth straight loss. The Chargers failed to score a touchdown in a road game against the Oakland Raiders. Chargers safety Michael Dumas, whom Riley called “one of the toughest guys out there,” had something to say to the team’s quarterback about the offense’s struggles.
Jim Harbaugh was upset. The quarterback pressed his facemask on Dumas and defender Junior Seau separated them. It didn’t end up on the field.
“When they got to the locker room, they had the perfect fight,” Riley said. “Jim doesn’t give up on anything.”
Nearly three decades after being a maniacal quarterback who wasn’t afraid to challenge his defensive teammates, Harbaugh brings that same fire to the franchise as its head coach.
The player once known as “Captain Comeback” for his dramatic playoff wins with the Indianapolis Colts is trying to engineer another turnaround for an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018.
Those who watched Harbaugh during his playing days know that his unique blend of competitiveness, authenticity and compassion makes him the perfect person to start Sunday’s season opener against the Oakland Raiders at 1:05 p.m. at SoFi Stadium.
“He wants to win more than anything, and he will,” former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf said. “He’s going to win. I just thought he was the best option in the world because he’s going to do what’s best for the team to win. … That’s what the Chargers needed.”
“The most competitive person you will ever meet.”
– Ryan Leaf, on former Chargers teammate Jim Harbaugh
Harbaugh, a former Heisman Trophy finalist at Michigan, threw the final touchdown passes of his 15-year NFL career with the Chargers. In two seasons with the Chargers, Harbaugh went 6-11 as a starting quarterback.
When he joined the team in 1999, the Chargers needed a proven veteran to guide the Leafs. Harbaugh, then in his 13th professional season, didn’t just focus on the former No. 2 coach.
During the season, Riley would occasionally look out his office window toward the practice fields as the rookies began their workouts. He looked closer and saw a veteran among the group.
“Jim was completely consumed by his preparation for the season, for the game, no matter what it was, he always did everything he could to be ready,” Riley said. “So he was the ultimate competitor in the games.”
Jim Harbaugh (4) had not lost his competitive spirit when he arrived in San Diego.
(Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Even in a league filled with the most dynamic people in the world, Harbaugh is “the most competitive person you’ll ever meet,” Leaf said.
It wasn’t just on the course. During the 2000 season, Chargers quarterbacks Leaf, Harbaugh and Moses Moreno spent weekly weekends playing golf together. They took turns deciding which course to choose, and Leaf noticed a distinct pattern in Harbaugh’s choices. He simply didn’t want to play the best courses. Looking for some edge, Harbaugh chose courses that specifically suited his swing.
“He was like Michael Jordan,” Leaf said, referring to the basketball legend’s role in designing his private Florida course to suit his style of play.
Harbaugh’s quest to find every advantage extends to his famous attention to detail as a coach. Players are instructed to wear shoes (not flip-flops or thongs) in meetings if they must get up and leave the game. They place their shoes in a precise order in the weight room.
“He is a winning machine. He is a cultural expert.”
– Offensive lineman Foster Sarell, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh
With his trademark “passion unknown to mankind,” Harbaugh orchestrated a record-breaking team photo day, getting players and coaches onto the field for the annual group photo in under seven minutes. Just as he does when devising a game plan, Harbaugh explained the positions in a team meeting before everyone took the field.
“If you let the little things go, the big things will happen,” offensive lineman Zion Johnson said. “The details are everything.”
When some coaches make drastic requests or tell stories that drive Harbaugh crazy, the messages can fall on deaf ears, Leaf said. Not when Harbaugh is talking. Players laugh when asked about their funny stories, but they still follow the ultimate message.
“When you see it and hear it, you know it’s real,” Leaf said.
Leaf’s shoulder injury on the first day of training camp in 1999 led to Harbaugh missing his first year with the Chargers as a starter. The team went 8-8 and Harbaugh’s quarterback rivalry resumed in 2000 with Leaf, then in his fourth season with the Chargers.
They pitched during training camp. Leaf threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the final preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals to clinch the starting job. Harbaugh gave up. Taking a backup position, Harbaugh shook Leaf’s hand.
“He then became an incredible mentor in the room,” Leaf said. “He taught me how to be a professional defender.”
Leaf said Harbaugh has begun the competition for “the best backup quarterback in this league.”
It all started with a quarterbacks coach whose career has been marred by injuries and bad behavior. Leaf got into shouting matches with teammates, reporters and fans. When he did, everyone added the latest infraction to the list of reasons to expel him.
Instead, Harbaugh asked why.
“I think people have admonished me, the general manager, the other partners and the media,” Leaf said. “There was a seriousness behind it, and then he listened. … This coach had already started playing in it.
Receiver Darius Davis called Harbaugh a “players’ coach” who knows exactly what players need because he once wore the same cleats as them.
Running back Hassan Haskins, who played at Michigan, knew he wanted to play for Harbaugh because the coach had created a family atmosphere around the program.
Offensive lineman Foster Sarell noted that Harbaugh would often sit with players during lunch and ask them about their families and spouses. He participates in Bible studies with the players.
“He’s a winning machine,” Sarell said. “He’s a cultist.”
Jim Harbaugh turned Stanford into a powerhouse after taking over as coach.
(David Madison/Getty Images)
Harbaugh has proven his abilities at every level and in every season. He led the University of San Diego to a 29-6 record in three seasons.
He did what Riley called “one of the best coaching jobs I’ve ever seen,” turning Stanford, which was 1-11 the season before he arrived, into a dominant force in the Pac-12.
He led the San Francisco 49ers to three NFC Championship games in four years and then led his alma mater, Michigan, to its first national championship in 26 years.
Having watched and supported the Chargers and Herbert from afar over the past few years, Riley was excited to see his former player back as coach. Harbaugh was the only veteran who worked with the youngsters. He was the only starting quarterback Riley has seen tackle.
Now it’s he who has to breathe into the charger.
