Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh: Goal is to Win Multiple Super Bowls After Returning to NFL

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVFebruary 1, 2024

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

New Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh held his introductory press conference on Thursday and not only expressed a desire to win the Super Bowl title that eluded him during his last stint in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, but to claim several rings.

“It’s got to be multiple championships,” he told reporters. “We’re going to be humble and hungry, but that’s our goal.”

Gilberto Manzano @GManzano24Jim Harbaugh on why he returned to the NFL: “I want another shot … to simply be known as world champions.” pic.twitter.com/MubCVGJuxv

Harbaugh, 60, went 44-19-1 in four seasons with the Niners (2011-14), leading the team to three playoff berths and one Super Bowl before returning to college with Michigan, where he won a national title this past season.

His pedigree in football is undeniable—after a long NFL career, he turned to coaching, where he’s served as the head coach of San Diego (2004-06), Stanford (2008-10), the Niners and Michigan (2015-23).

The Chargers made sense on a number of fronts, though a solid roster led by Justin Herbert was likely the most attractive aspect of the job.

NFL @NFLJim Harbaugh on some of the leaders in the @chargers locker room: pic.twitter.com/hcqgF0YynR

“The thing that’s hitting me is enormous talent,” Harbaugh told reporters regarding Herbert. “I’m waking up real early in the morning these days like, ‘I gotta bring it.’ I gotta bring my A-game. I gotta get a coaching staff hired that’s worthy of coaching Justin, Derwin [James] and all the guys. I’m really thinking about my accountability and making sure that I’m ready.”

But it probably helped that the team’s owners, the Spanos family, also expressed an interest in allowing Harbaugh to run their ship as he saw fit after several seasons underachieving under Brandon Staley:

Albert Breer @AlbertBreerJim Harbaugh said that the Chargers were the right fit plainly because of how the Spanos family pursued him—”They made it clear they liked what I did and how I did it.” In other words, they were willing to go all-in in how Harbaugh wanted to build it.

Harbaugh has had success at every stop, but a Super Bowl title eluded him as both a player and coach. The Chargers, meanwhile, have never won a Super Bowl as a franchise and only reached the big game once in their existence (1994).

So Harbaugh and the Chargers are united in their hunger to finally claim a ring. Well, more than one, according to the head coach.