Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy Reacts to Chargers’ Hiring of Jim Harbaugh
Next season’s Michigan Wolverines will look much different than the squad that took home the national championship earlier this month. On Wednesday, coach Jim Harbaugh made his move back to the NFL official, accepting the Los Angeles Chargers job.
Michigan’s new coach will have to break in a new quarterback. After helping the team to the national title, J.J. McCarthy declared for the 2024 NFL draft, where he’s considered a potential first-round pick.
Harbaugh and McCarthy will be inextricably linked in Michigan football history forever, after what the 2023 team accomplished. On Wednesday night, following the Harbaugh-to-L.A. news, McCarthy thanked his college coach on X (formerly Twitter).
“THE Michigan Man! Love you 4,” the quarterback wrote. “Thank you for everything 🙏🏻🫶🏻 Your story isn’t finished just yet 🥹🫡”
While they’re both NFL-bound, a reunion through the draft is very unlikely. Many mock drafts predict McCarthy will be picked in the first round, but even if he slides, the Chargers are unlikely to be a team to invest heavily at the quarterback position this year.
The team currently employs Justin Herbert, one of the NFL’s most talented young gunslingers and a likely reason why Harbaugh settled on the L.A. over job.
Hebert eclipsed 4,300 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns in each of his first three NFL seasons, before ending the ’23 season prematurely due to injury.
