Jim Harbaugh shares roots with 49ers' Christian McCaffrey despite never coaching RB
When Jim Harbaugh was hired at Michigan in 2014, he was tasked with rebuilding the Wolverines' football program back to its winning ways. It was a similar task that he was faced with at his prior stops: the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford.
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, the brother of former Wolverine quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, starred at Stanford where he set records and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2015. And so in the lead-up to the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas, curiosity has risen if Jim Harbaugh coached Christian McCaffrey in Palo Alto with the Cardinal.
REQUIRED READING: Jim Harbaugh hopes to bring Michigan football magic to Los Angeles and the Chargers
Here's some connections between the former Michigan football coach and the 49ers star running back:
Did Jim Harbaugh coach Christian McCaffrey at Stanford?
No. Jim Harbaugh was already gone for four years by the time Christian McCaffrey stepped onto the campus in Palo Alto in 2014, but both do share a tie to the Cardinal.
Jim Harbaugh has two separate ties to Stanford himself. The first involves his dad, Jack Harbaugh, who served as the Cardinal defensive coordinator 1980 to 1981. Then four decades after he left Palo Alto as a kid, Jim Harbaugh returned to Stanford but this time as the Cardinal coach in 2007.
During his four years at the helm at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh inherited a program that had a 1-11 record prior to his arrival and turned it into a 12-1 season finish, which ended with an Orange Bowl victory, by his final year in 2010. He coached a handful of players who went on to have NFL careers like Andrew Luck, Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin, Zach Ertz, David DeCastro and Trent Murphy amongst others. Jim Harbaugh finished with a 29-21 (21-14 Pac-12) record in four seasons at Stanford.
REQUIRED READING: Jim Harbaugh spent 9 years as Michigan football's power source. Now he's electrifying LA
Christian McCaffrey, who was recruited to Stanford after Harbaugh left, was an elusive and dual-threat running back for the Cardinal from 2014 to 2016. His best season with the Cardinal came during his sophomore year in 2015 when he broke Brian Westbrook's previous NCAA record for single-season all-purpose yards record (which includes return yards) with 3,864 yards.
The Colorado native was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
Here's a full list of Christian McCaffrey's records at Stanford according to the NCAA:
NCAA single-season all-purpose yards record holder (3,864)
3rd in Stanford single-season with 1,070 kickoff return yards
4th in Stanford single-season with 28.9 yards/kickoff return
1st in Stanford career with 33 career touchdowns
1st in Stanford single-season with 11 100-yard rushing games
1st in Stanford single-season with 2,019 rushing yards
1st in Stanford single-game with 284 yards rushing
1st in Stanford single-game with four rushing touchdowns
1st player in Rose Bowl history with 100 yards rushing and receiving
4th-most all-purpose yards in NCAA bowl history at 368
REQUIRED READING: Jim Harbaugh heaps praise upon J.J. McCarthy, says he could be No. 1 QB in NFL draft
Jim Harbaugh, Christian McCaffrey share 49ers connection
Before Harbaugh returned to the college ranks to coach alma mater in 2014, he spent four seasons at the NFL ranks as the head coach of the 49ers.
Harbaugh's time in Santa Clara was successful, for the most part, as he recorded 44 wins from 2011-14 − the fourth-most of any coach in that span behind Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy and John Fox according to FOX Sports Research. He also led the 49ers to three straight NFC championship game appearances from 2011-13 and a Super Bowl appearance in 2012, which he lost to his younger brother, John Harbaugh, and the Baltimore Ravens.
Christian McCaffrey found his way to San Francisco through an in-season trade last year between the 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. In his time with the 49ers, the 5-foot-11 tailback has excelled in Kyle Shanahan' system becoming one of the NFL's premier offensive weapons on the ground and through the air.
Jim Harbaugh coached Christian McCaffrey's younger brother Dylan at Michigan
Though Harbaugh did not Christian McCaffrey at Stanford, the now Chargers head coach did coach his younger brother, Dylan McCaffrey, at Michigan.
Dylan McCaffrey, who was a four-star recruit and the No. 2-ranked prospect in Colorado in the 2017 recruiting class — according to his 247Sports' composite rankings page — played for Harbaugh from 2017 to 2019 at Michigan.
After redshirting his true freshman season, Dylan McCaffrey served as one of the Wolverines' backup quarterbacks in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In those two seasons under Harbaugh, Dylan McCaffrey completed 18 passes for 242 yards with three touchdowns and ran for 168 yards on 23 carries for two touchdowns in 13 combined games.
Dylan McCaffrey entered the transfer portal in 2021 following sitting out the entire 2020 season after losing out on the starting quarterback job to Joe Milton. He used the final two years of his eligibility playing for his dad and former NFL wide receiver, Ed McCaffrey, at Northern Colorado.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Harbaugh has ties with 49ers star RB Christian McCaffrey
