Jim Harbaugh leads Chargers to NFL playoffs in Year 1, cements legacy as proven winner

Wherever Jim Harbaugh goes, he wins. Period.

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Wherever Jim Harbaugh goes, he wins. Period.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the New England Patriots, 40-7, to improve to 10-6 on the year and clinch a spot in the NFL Playoffs in Harbaugh's first season back in the NFL. This comes one year removed from leading Michigan to its first national championship since 1997.

Harbaugh continues to prove he's one of the best football coaches the game has ever seen. He's led turnaround efforts at each of his previous major coaching stops, which included Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers, Michigan and now the Chargers.

4 years at Stanford: 29-21 (.580)
4 years prior: 14-31 (.310)

4 years at SF: 44-19 (.700)
4 years prior: 26-38 (.410)

8 years at Michigan: 80-21 (.790) 🏆
8 years prior: 54-47 (.530)

Chargers last year: 5-12
Chargers this year: 10-6

Jim Harbaugh is one of the greatest EVER. pic.twitter.com/5Kpv4vmNXi

— uofmcoverage (@uofmcoverage) December 28, 2024

With a record of 54-25-1, Harbaugh's win percentage of .685 as an NFL coach is the fifth-best mark in the Super Bowl era (since 1968), trailing only John Madden, Vince Lombardi, George Allen and Blanton Collier. Harbaugh's success in the NFL includes three trips to the NFC Championship game and a Super Bowl appearance witht the 49ers.

In the college ranks, Harbaugh went 29-6 overall across three seasons in his head coaching debut at San Diego. He then took over what was, at the time, considered the worst Power 5 program in college football in Stanford. The Cardinal had gone 1-11 the year prior to Harbaugh's arrival, and won just four games in his first season in Palo Alto. However, the head coach then led Stanford to eight wins in 2009, and a 12-1 mark in 2010 as the Cardinal finished ranked No. 4 in the country.

At Michigan, Harbaugh averaged 9.4 wins per year in his first five seasons prior to the COVID-shortened 2020 year in which the Wolverines went 2-4. Harbaugh would go on to lead Michigan to a 40-3 mark in his final three seasons in Ann Arbor, as the Wolverines won three straight Big Ten championships and the 2023 national championship.

Now back in the NFL, Harbaugh has the Chargers immediately playing like a championship contender, as he seeks to check the final mark on his coaching resume: a Super Bowl victory.

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