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Jim Harbaugh playing career: Recapping Michigan coach's NFL stats, highlights as QB

zac al-khateeb, usa today network
·5 min read

Jim Harbaugh's long-suspected return to the NFL came to fruition on Wednesday, as the Michigan football coach was announced as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

In the end, the lure of the NFL proved too much for the ninth-year Wolverines coach to resist, even on the heels of a 15-0 national championship season in 2023 — or, perhaps, because of it. Harbaugh's foray into the league will be his second as a coach following a four-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers. He led the franchise to a 44-19-1 record in four seasons, which included a berth in the 2013 Super Bowl.

That said, this won't be Harbaugh's first time with the Chargers: He played there briefly as the team's quarterback in 1999 and 2000. The Chargers, then based out of San Diego, were one of four different franchises for which Harbaugh played before leaving the NFL for good as a player following the 2001 season.

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Here's a look back at Harbaugh's playing career in the NFL, including his time with the Chargers:

Who did Jim Harbaugh play for in the NFL?

  • Chicago Bears: 1987-93

  • Indianapolis Colts: 1994-97

  • Baltimore Ravens: 1998

  • San Diego Chargers: 1999-2000

  • Detroit Lions: 2001 (cut before the season)

  • Carolina Panthers: 2001 (did not play)

Harbaugh played for four different NFL franchises and signed with six. The team for whom he played the longest was the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft with the 26th overall pick. He played seven seasons in Chicago, from 1987-93.

Harbaugh signed on to play with the Indianapolis Colts in 1994, playing with the team for four seasons (1994-97) before he was traded to the Ravens for third and fourth-round draft picks in the 1998 NFL Draft. He played one season for the Ravens before finishing his playing career with the Chargers in 1999 and 2000.

He signed to play for the Lions in 2001, but was cut before the season. He then pivoted to the Panthers, where he dressed in six games but did not play.

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Did Jim Harbaugh play for the Chargers?

Harbaugh played two seasons in San Diego for the Chargers, playing 21 games and starting 17. He went 6-11 as a starter, completing 372 of 636 passes (58.5%) for 4,177 yards and 18 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. He also rushed 50 times for 150 yards in two seasons.

Harbaugh went 6-6 as a starter in 1999 amid the Chargers' 8-8 season that saw them finish third in the AFC West. He was 0-5 as a starter in 2000, a season in which San Diego went 1-15 and finished with the top overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft. The Chargers traded the pick to the Falcons, who used the selection to take quarterback Michael Vick. San Diego drafted LaDainian Tomlinson fifth overall.

Here's a season-by-season breakdown of his stats and record as the Chargers' QB:

  • 1999: 249 of 434 passing (57.4%) for 2,761 yards and 10 touchdowns to 14 interceptions (6-6 record)

  • 2000: 123 of 202 passing (60.9%) for 1,416 and eight touchdowns to 10 interceptions (0-5 record)

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Jim Harbaugh stats

Harbaugh's best statistical season came in 1995, his lone Pro Bowl season, when he threw for 2,575 yards and 17 touchdowns to five interceptions. His best success as a starter came with the Bears, particularly in the 1990 and 1991 seasons, when he combined to go 21-9.

Here's a year-by-year look at Harbaugh's stats in the NFL (record as a starter in parentheses):

Chicago Bears

  • 1987 (0-0): 8 of 11 passing (72.7%) for 62 yards

  • 1988 (1-1): 47 of 97 passing (48.5%) for 514 yards and two interceptions

  • 1989 (1-4): 111 of 178 passing (62.4%) for 1,204 yards annd five touchdowns to nine interceptions

  • 1990 (10-4): 180 of 312 passing (57.7%) for 2,178 yards and 10 touchdowns to six interceptions

  • 1991 (11-5): 275of 478 passing (57.5%) for 3,121 yards and 15 touchdowns to 16 interceptions

  • 1992 (5-8): 202 of 358 passing (56.4%) for 2,486 yards and 13 touchdowns to 12 interceptions

  • 1993 (7-8): 200 of 325 passing (61.5%) for 2,002 yards and seven touchdowns to 11 interceptions

Indianapolis Colts

  • 1994 (4-5): 125 of 202 passing (61.9%) for 1,440 yards and nine touchdowns to six interceptions

  • 1995 (7-5)*: 200 of 314 passing (63.7% for 2,575 yards and 17 touchdowns to five interceptions

  • 1996 (7-7): 232 of 405 passing (57.3%) for 2,630 yards and 13 touchdowns to 11 interceptions

  • 1997 (2-9): 189 of 309 passing (61.2%) for 2,060 yards and 10 touchdowns to four interceptions

Baltimore Ravens

  • 1998 (5-7): 164 of 293 passing (56.0%) for 1,839 yards and 12 touchdowns to 11 interceptions

San Diego Chargers

  • 1999: 249 of 434 passing (57.4%) for 2,761 yards and 10 touchdowns to 14 interceptions

  • 2000: 123 of 202 passing (60.9%) for 1,416 and eight touchdowns to 10 interceptions

How old is Jim Harbaugh?

Harbaugh, born Dec. 23, 1963, is 60 years old as he makes his second foray into coaching in the NFL.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Did Jim Harbaugh play for the Chargers? Remembering QB's stats in NFL