Jim Harbaugh Reveals How Carolina Played Crucial Role in How 2024 Chargers Were Built

Valentina Martinez | Sep 14, 2024

Aug 17, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh catches the ball during the game against th eLos Angeles Rams in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Week 2 is a blast from the past for Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, who finished his playing career with the Carolina Panthers in 2001.

It was in Carolina that Harbaugh spent the end of his playing career, but it was also the genesis of his legendary coaching career.

"The other thing I learned, I didn't get into a game so it was time to coach," Harbaugh said via the team transcript. "It was time to go into coaching. This is the football gods explaining to me that we're not going to play anymore and we're going to go into coaching."

"[Coach] as long as you possibly can. You go and you coach until you cannot step on the field one more time, until you can't endure one more practice or put one more game plan together. You come to that point, you coach for two more years," Harbaugh said with a laugh. "That's how I felt personally at that time. As a player, I felt like I had two more [years] in me."

The most impactful experience in Carolina was meeting Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was the Panthers offensive line assistant at the time.

"Nothing more profound that meeting Greg Roman in Carolina," Harbaugh said. "He was the go-to guy. He was geeked and excited to teach. It was things I'd never heard before. He could take a complex football play/scheme and explain it 30 minutes max and I felt like I knew it inside and out. He has that ability to really teach."

"That was the most proud thing that came out of my Carolina days," Harbaugh added.

Although Harbaugh served as the backup quarterback and never played in a game for the Panthers, his past served an important purpose for the present.

Roman wasn't the only person who's had a lasting relationship with the Chargers head coach. Harbaugh also remains good friends with his former two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, George Seifert.

After Harbaugh's retelling of the key experiences in Carolina that helped propel him into his renowned coaching career, it's evident Chargers fans should be thanking the Panthers organization for who they have leading Los Angeles.

Win or lose against the Panthers, the Chargers should be grateful for what Carolina meant to Harbaugh and Roman. The new regime wouldn't exist without Harbaugh's time as a member of the Panthers.

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