Chargers News: Jim Harbaugh Ranked As Top-10 Head Coach Before First Down for LA
![Jun 13, 2024; Costa Mesa, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at a press conference during minicamp at the Hoag Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Jun 13, 2024; Costa Mesa, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at a press conference during minicamp at the Hoag Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_8001,h_4500,x_0,y_208/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/charger_report/01j2w053xhrhsr14q1g2.jpg)
Hot off claiming a College Football Playoff national championship to cap an undefeated 2023 season with the Michigan Wolverines, Jim Harbaugh (and a lot of his staff, and some of his players!) jumped ship to hopefully salvage the Los Angeles Chargers, who went 5-12 in 2023 despite fielding a talented offensive roster around Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert.
Harbaugh's reputation precedes him. To be fair, he's a proven commodity in the NFL, too, given that he went 44-19-1 during the regular season and 5-3 in the postseason while coaching the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014 (which included three straight NFC title game bouts and a Super Bowl berth).
In his latest ranking of all the NFL's head coaches, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports ranks Harbaugh as the No. 7-best in the land — despite Harbaugh having yet to coach a single down with the Bolts.
"On one hand, Harbaugh's been out of the NFL for a decade, and, in fact, has just four seasons of pro head-coaching experience under his belt," Benjamin writes. "On the other, he's been an undisputed victor at every spot, with 16 winning seasons in 20 years as a head man, including three NFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance during his San Francisco 49ers days. L.A. is bound to be more disciplined under his watch."
Harbaugh and his hand-picked general manager Joe Hortiz have revamped the club to focus on the run game, ditching the team's top two wideouts and top running back from last year's roster.
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