Jim Harbaugh shares key to instilling toughness in teams

The word toughness has defined several of Jim Harbaugh’s football teams over the years, and plans on continuing that trend in the NFL.

Speaking to Colin Cowherd on The Herd, Harbaugh explained the importance of having toughness spread throughout a successful football team, and how he plans to instill it in the Los Angeles Chargers ahead of the 2024 regular season.

“Nothing fancy, you know, just good old fashioned — hard work, good old fashioned teamwork,” Harbaugh said on The Herd. “You know guys are good at football — the player that knows what to do, how to do it, where to align, you know, plays the technique properly. And then you combine that with being a superior athlete and then, you know, then you really have it.

“We can all control being the kind of player that knows what to do and how to do it and when to do it. And then train, you know, just good old fashioned hard work, training yourself to be a good athlete, a better athlete, a superior athlete.”

Harbaugh believes that this should be no issue coaching a professional team like the Los Angeles Chargers. Unlike in college, there are no wide-eyed 18-year old kids that are five years removed from youth football. If you’re talented enough to make it to the NFL, you’re the best of the best, Harbaugh said.

There are the same players that were the most coachable in college. They worked the hardest, they were the most discipled. Success meant the most to them, which is why Harbaugh isn’t worried about his 2024 Chargers team falling behind those expectations. Still, Harbaugh is putting it on himself to ensure the success of his squad moving forward.

“What goes through my mind right now is you’ve got to really bring it,” Harbaugh said. “I’ve got to be good. I’ve got to be accountable. I’ve got to be walking into a room, coaching Justin Herbert. I better know my stuff. I better have looked at all the tape. I better make this system clean, and every time he steps out of a quarterback meeting, he’s got clarity. It’s clean, and it’s nice.”

Harbaugh has tasted success everywhere he has gone during his coaching career, and he doesn’t plan on switching that up now. We’ll see if this trend continues when the NFL kicks off its 2024 regular season during the first week of September.