Jim Harbaugh Believes He's Lucky To Be Around 'Winning' Chargers Culture

Valentina Martinez | Sep 11, 2024

Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh runs on to the field for the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh believes he didn't bring the culture, rather it was already established before he arrived.

The Spanos family hired Harbaugh in January to shake up the franchise and change the Chargers' reputation in the NFL.

"Jim Harbaugh is football personified, and I can think of no one better to lead the Chargers forward," Spanos said. "The son of a coach, brother of a coach, and father of a coach who himself was coached by names like Schembechler and Ditka, for the past two decades Jim has led hundreds of men to success everywhere he's been — as their coach. And today, Jim Harbaugh returns to the Chargers, this time as our coach. Who has it better than us?"

Everybody believed that Harbaugh would act as the catalyst for a winning culture, but he disagrees.

On Monday, Harbaugh appeared on The Herd following the Chargers 22-10 win over rival Las Vegas Raiders.

Jim Harbaugh has high praise for the @chargers organization:

"The culture's already set. I realized early I am the lucky one to be here." pic.twitter.com/x42GospSfO

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 9, 2024

"I would say about a day and a half after being on the field with the players, I realized that guys like Derwin James, that's when it hit me, just do whatever Derwin James is doing," Harbaugh told Colin Cowherd. "There's guys here, Derwin, Justin Herbert, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, I mean they just do everything right, Rashawn Slater, Zion Johnson. I realized their culture is already here. It's already set. These guys have already been doing the dirty work, and they do it with a great love and passion for football. [They] care for their teammates and the organization. I realized really early on that I'm the lucky one to be here and just go with what they've got established. It caused me to say this is the best darn job I've ever had."

The Chargers have historically had good players, Antonio Gates, Dan Fouts, and Junior Seau, to name a few. but they've never been able to win a Super Bowl.

James, Bosa, Mack, and Herbert are the latest stars on the Chargers' roster, but they've had trouble even making the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl appearance.

Harbaugh's arrival sparked a buzz throughout the fanbase and for good reason. It was the first time in years that the Chargers had anything exciting happen.

However, as Harbaugh pointed out, the culture shift may have never been the problem for the Chargers. Maybe what the team was missing was the right person to inspire the talent.