Former players share wild anecdotes of what it's like to play for Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh has had success everywhere he has coached, and starting this season, he is taking on a new challenge: turning the Los Angeles Chargers into a contender.
As he prepares to make his return to the NFL, ESPN recently caught up with several of his former players from both his college days (San Diego, Stanford and Michigan) as well as his previous NFL stop in San Francisco.
They all had some wild anecdotes about what it's like to play for him.
Given some of those stories, it is also understandable how he can get the most out of his teams and find success with them.
Harbaugh's first head coaching experience came at the University of San Diego between 2004 and 2006, and it was there that players first got a taste of his willingness to train with his players. That included sprinting up a 400-meter hill — later renamed "Harbaugh Hill" — resulting in Harbaugh making a mess of himself — literally — to the delight of his players.
"He was full speed up the hill, turned to the left, threw up, got a little bit on his windbreaker on his shoulder and his arm, never broke stride, never said anything about it," said former San Diego defensive end Eric Bakhtiari. "He acted like nothing happened. It was like the vomit was an inconvenience to his goal."
Harbaugh has developed a habit of always wearing the same outfits — usually defined by his khaki pants — because it is one less non-football decision he must make in his daily routine. He does not change that outfit when he enters the gym, as several Michigan players recounted him bench-pressing 225 pounds in those khakis.
Perhaps the wildest story shared was the background information on that infamous post-game altercation with former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz.
Former 49ers tight end Delanie Walker remembered Harbaugh saying during the game they were going to beat the Lions, with Harbaugh taking personal offense to Schwartz yelling across the field to him to learn the rules after Harbaugh threw a challenge flag on a player that was not reviewable.
Walker said 49ers players were prepared to get suspended for Harbaugh in the post-game fight, adding "that's how you know love is real."
The common denominator in all of this is how much Harbaugh's players are willing to fight for him and how hard they are willing to work for him. That is the mindset the Chargers need after years of underachieving and disappointment.
On the one hand, Harbaugh turned around Stanford and the 49ers after extended down periods, so he has a track record of building up disappointing programs and organizations. However, the Chargers will prove to be a big challenge because no matter who their head coach or quarterback is, and no matter what their reputation is, the organization seems to have a way of dragging all of them back to mediocrity. It might be his most impressive coaching job if Harbaugh changes that culture.
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