Winners and losers of Jim Harbaugh's decision to return to NFL as coach of Chargers
Hail! To the victors valiant. Hail! To the conquering heroes. Hail! Hail! To LA Bolts, the champions of the AFC West!
Maybe?
Turn up the collective nose if you like, but it’s my concise attempt to signal life will never be the same in Ann Arbor, Michigan … and maybe not for one of the NFL’s most woebegone franchises.
The fairly expected news came to fruition Wednesday evening, with Jim Harbaugh – fresh off completely reviving the University of Michigan’s football program with its first undisputed national championship since 1948 – agreeing to a deal to leave the Wolverines and become the Los Angeles Chargers’ new head coach.
What’s next? Perhaps a sea change for two levels of American football. As the waves build, here’s an early look at the prospective winners and losers of Harbaugh’s seismic decision:
WINNERS
Justin Herbert
The Chargers' highly talented quarterback – perhaps the most enticing aspect of their previously vacant HC post – is likely about to learn his fourth offense going into his fifth NFL season, presuming 2023 coordinator Kellen Moore is not retained. Be that as it may, stability has finally arrived for Herbert and Co., and Harbaugh – a renowned quarterback whisperer – arrives just as the Pro Bowl passer is about to enter his prime years. It may not necessarily happen in 2024, but every reason to believe Harbaugh will enable Herbert to maximize his estimable potential in the very near future.
Ohio State and coach Ryan Day
After losing to Harbaugh’s Wolverines and watching them advance to win the Big Ten title each of the past three seasons – plus the 2023 national title – the Buckeyes and their coach could see the conference’s power pendulum swing back toward Columbus, Ohio, which would surely also quiet the whispers Day has faced about his job security in recent years. Prior to 2021, Ohio State won four consecutive Big Ten crowns, the last two with Day at the helm.
Spanos family
The Chargers’ owners have long endured slings about their commitment to winning and investing in the team – even if the Bolts have consistently spent heavily on player acquisition and retention for some time. Still, Harbaugh’s arrival marks the club’s highest-profile coaching hire since Marty Schottenheimer came aboard in 2002 – and it comes at a time when the quasi-itinerant club long rooted in San Diego is about to move into a resplendent new facility in El Segundo. Harbaugh and the team’s next general manager will have to work through a bloated salary cap. But it shouldn’t be long before this team has everything it needs to chase what Harbaugh was brought in to obtain – the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy.
Big Ten
The conference’s seemingly interminable Harbaugh headache has finally abated as he exits stage west. Penn State, Iowa and perhaps others join Ohio State as teams whose prospects for the expanded College Football Playoff format suddenly look rosier. Well, maybe not Iowa. We almost forgot Oregon, Washington and USC were joining the party this year – maybe one of them will emerge as the, ahem, “champions of the west.”
LOSERS
Michigan
Not only has Big Blue dominated its conference since 2021, the Wolverines qualified for the CFP the past three seasons. But now Harbaugh is off to the NFL. Same for QB J.J. McCarthy and several other key players. Can Sherrone Moore, who captained the team so capably during Harbaugh’s 2023 suspensions – or whomever takes over in Ann Arbor – sustain the program in the aftermath of such meteoric success? At minimum, a very tall task.
Kansas City Chiefs
By virtue of the fact the Bolts no longer have a coach who will go for it on fourth-and-17 from his own 23 in the first quarter, they’re a better team. But make no mistake: A talented roster that typically gave the reigning Super Bowl champs all they could handle in recent seasons is almost certain to emerge as a legitimate contender to the AFC West throne K.C. has solely occupied since 2016. The Harbaugh-barians could be at the gates very soon.
John Harbaugh
Who’s got it better than you? TBD for the coach of the AFC's top-seeded Baltimore Ravens, a team just two wins from its third Super Bowl triumph. But that question could quickly be in doubt with little brother – who was safely ensconced with the NFC’s San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl 47 notwithstanding, during his last NFL hitch – suddenly threatening to shift the conference's balance of power. At minimum, a Harbaugh Bowl will occur every three years – SoFi Stadium slated to host the next in 2024, date and time to learn who’s got it better TBA.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jim Harbaugh returns to NFL with Chargers: Winners and losers of move
