Jim Harbaugh hopes to bring Michigan football magic to Los Angeles and the Chargers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh flashed a sheepish smile and chuckled. The quintessential Michigan Man was put on the spot after a reporter asked if he is an L.A. guy now.

"Yeah, I think so," he blurted in response. "I aspire to be."

The new coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers snorted and the audience at his introductory news conference laughed along with him. They were in his thrall and Harbaugh recognized as much while standing on stage inside a dark theater adjacent to state-of-the-art stadium where he'll spend most of his Sundays next fall. So he went ahead and regaled them with the same quips, quirky one-liners and anecdotes that were part of the Harbaugh soundtrack during his nine years as the face of Michigan football.

Out west, 10 miles from the doorstep of Hollywood, Harbaugh had brought his act here after agreeing last week to a five-year deal worth a reported $16 million annually. It's in this city of movie stars that Harbaugh plans to grab the marquee and turn this sagging, almost irrelevant AFC West franchise into an attraction.

"Our goal" he said, "is to win multiple championships."

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He'll try to accomplish that mission by molding the Chargers into a version of the Michigan program he guided to the summit of college football this past season. There is talk Harbaugh will transport the core of his operation from Schembechler Hall to a gleaming new facility set to open by the summer. Strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert has already decided to come along. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Harbaugh's son, Jay, his longest-tenured assistant, may soon join him, too.

"We're going through a process," he said.

It's going to take some time. But Harbaugh has already hit the ground running. He's reached out to the majority of players on the roster. He paid a visit to the new weight room, making sure it was set up exactly how he wanted it.

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"Things are changing," he observed.

Harbaugh will be the catalyst of that large-scale transformation, which will occupy his full attention and require days upon days of hard work. Harbaugh, of course, wouldn't want it any other way. He talked about instilling a culture of togetherness, building his team around the offensive line and emphasizing the fundamentals. They would block and tackle. They would play with relentless spirit.

"And get really good at football," he said. "Attack each day. Attack it with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind."

To hear him say those words, in this setting, with this organization, was almost surreal. The team, the team, the team that had become his focus was no longer the Wolverines but rather a misplaced franchise most view as an afterthought in L.A. The quarterback he praised wasn't J.J. McCarthy anymore. It was now Justin Herbert, a rare talent Harbaugh referred to as a "crown jewel." The items on his to-do list had shifted from NIL, transfer acquisitions and recruiting to salary-cap management, free agency and the draft. This was all familiar territory for Harbaugh. But some wondered if he would ever reenter it. Only a short time ago, there was no guarantee Harbaugh would make it back to a league where he won 70% of his games and burnished his reputation as one of the sport's best coaches.

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After five consecutive losses to Ohio State and the 2-4 debacle in 2020, Harbaugh had landed in a ditch. His tenure at Michigan, which began with so much promise, had crashed along with him. The unfulfilled expectations prompted the school’s athletic director Warde Manuel to slash his salary in half. But Harbaugh emerged from the darkness and thrust his program back in the spotlight. With a revamped staff and a new defensive scheme, U-M football was reborn. Over the past three seasons, Harbaugh’s Wolverines won 40 of 43 games, three Big Ten titles and the national championship last month.

Captain Comeback had done it again, restoring his career and regaining his place among the vanguard of top-tier coaches.

"All the stars aligned for Jim, and they always have," a source who had worked with Harbaugh told the Free Press. "That's the story of his life. He always seems to fall up."

Yet Harbaugh’s own troubles almost dragged him down. During Michigan’s run to a 15-0 record this past season, he missed six games after he was suspended twice — first by the school and later by the Big Ten. As he came under intense public scrutiny, his program was ensnared in two separate NCAA probes. One is focused on impermissible recruiting and coaching activities. The other is tied to a cheating scandal that involved off-campus scouting and sign-stealing. The investigations continued to hover over the program as it celebrated its first national title since 1997. So did nagging questions about Harbaugh’s next move.

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After he hired NFL agent Don Yee to represent him toward the end of the season, a return to the pros seemed inevitable. Nothing could stand in his way, including his beloved alma mater. But, oh did Michigan try. The university was prepared to make Harbaugh the highest-paid coach in the college ranks, and rumors about a massive contract extension rumbled in the background throughout the season.

“We were open about what we wanted and what we would do and what we couldn’t do,” Manuel said last Saturday. “It was a very good discussion. I don’t think anybody was nefarious in anything.”

Manuel, after all, knew there was so much he could do to keep Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. The coach harbored a burning desire to hoist a Lombardi trophy. “It would be great to win a Super Bowl,” he said in March 2022. That comment was made a month after he flew to Minnesota and interviewed with the Vikings on national signing day. The offer never came, but it seemed it was only a matter of time before Harbaugh found a willing partner.

The Chargers were willing to be that match.

"I felt there was a very natural connection," said John Spanos, the team's president of football operations. "A shared vision. Shared values."

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Spanos also was intrigued by Harbaugh's ability to resuscitate fallen football teams. He restored Stanford, transforming the Cardinal from a one-win Pac-10 doormat into a top-five team. He rebuilt the 49ers, taking the franchise to three consecutive conference championship games after it failed to make the playoffs in each of the eight seasons predating his arrival. Then he restored his alma mater's program multiple times — lifting it out of the dim shadow of the Brady Hoke era and reviving it again when his tenure hit the lowest point.

"You look at his body of work, everything he exudes, his passion and competitiveness," Spanos said. "Everything ... sums up why I think he is the right guy for us."

Harbaugh was a force of nature, Spanos recognized. He could promote change. He could motivate players. He could captivate an audience. It seemed there was nothing he couldn't do. That was reinforced when team owner Dean Spanos informed his new coach that heavy rain was forecast on the day of his first news conference. Harbaugh listened to the news and then quipped, "Dean, we are the storm."

And Harbaugh is its eye.

On Thursday, at his introductiory news conference, he blew his audience away. Harbaugh had arrived, ready to grab the stage in this city of stars.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Harbaugh hopes to import Michigan's winning formula to LA Chargers