Harbaugh uses 'third base' analogy with Chargers after using against Ryan Day, Ohio State
Jim Harbaugh is two months into his tenure as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. And the former Michigan coach is continuing to use his "third base" analogy.
In November 2021, Harbaugh remarked that some people are "standing on third base, think they hit a triple," a comment he later confirmed as a "counter punch" to Ohio State coach Ryan Day's reported comment that Ohio State would "hang 100" on the Wolverines in 2020.
On Monday, the "third base" comment was used to describe the state of the Chargers when Harbaugh first arrived.
"Every person in that building from equipment to training staff, to the social media staff, the analytics staff, there's so much respect to what everybody does," Harbaugh told reporters. "Everybody in that building, everybody in that organization, nobody was born on third base. They had to work their way to first, to second, to third. And the players, same thing.
"I want celebrate and congratulate them for being at the highest level in football and celebrate their story and how they got there. Now we're all here together, we're all on third base, poised to bring this home together."
In November, Harbaugh deflected an answer to a question about his level of respect for Day and Ohio State.
"It's all about our preparation for Ohio," Harbaugh said. "The days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game, that's where our focus is: preparing ourselves and planning. We're going to practice then execute. Anything else is irrelevant when it comes to this big game week."
A day later, Day responded similarly when asked about his respect for Harbaugh and Michigan.
“With everything going on and all the things out there, we have kind of stayed away from all the distractions, and our guys have done a good job of it,” Day said. “When you talk to our guys about what’s gone on this season … they’re focused on this game and their preparation, and we’re going to continue with that.”
Day later commented that "the way you respect a rivalry is to work it every day" and that Ohio State respects the rivalry.
Harbaugh, who was Michigan's football coach from 2015-23, led the Wolverines to two wins in seven meetings against Ohio State.
Sherrone Moore led Michigan to a win against Ohio State in 2023. Harbaugh was suspended for the final three games of the Big Ten season after Michigan was "found in violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jim Harbaugh makes 'third base' comment with Los Angeles Chargers
