WHAT’S NEXT FOR JIM HARBAUGH?:
After 118 wins in 164 games over 13 years, Jim Harbaugh has finally done it. Jim Harbaugh has led his Michigan Wolverines to a national championship. With key pieces such as his quarterback JJ McCarthy and his running back Blake Corum heading to the NFL, it might also be beneficial for Harbaugh to make the jump. After all, winning a national championship is the highest he can reach in college football. If Harbaugh stays at Michigan he can only stay in place or fall back. Therefore, I did some research and made a list of the top 3 NFL fits for Jim Harbaugh.
3. DALLAS COWBOYS:
Dallas is probably the best fit for Harbaugh. However, they come in third because they will likely retain their current coach, Mike McCarthy. Mike McCarthy has done a solid job with the Cowboys in his four seasons in Dallas, leading them to a 42W-25L record. The issue with McCarthy in Green Bay was that the Packers seemed to underperform in the playoffs, as he only won a single NFC championship in 13 years with Aaron Rodgers. Meanwhile, since 1995, in 10 playoff appearances, the Cowboys haven’t reached the big game once. McCarthy and Dallas were a match made anywhere but in heaven. To nobody’s surprise, the Cowboys are 1W-3L in the playoffs since hiring Mike McCarthy. Hiring Jim Harbaugh, a man who’s recently won 2 of the 3 biggest college football games of the year, would be a great fix. The Dallas roster is stacked top to bottom with stars, most notably DPOTY candidates Daron Bland and Micah Parsons, along with MVP candidate Dak Prescott. Cowboy fans would love to see what Harbaugh could put together with their loaded roster. However, the owner of the Cowboys, Jerry Jones has stated "I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach,". Jones is known to be a wildcard, so while it is unlikely, I’m not ruling out Harbaugh to Dallas.
2. ATLANTA FALCONS:
Unlike the Cowboys, the Atlanta Falcons do have an opening at head coach. In fact, they’ve already interviewed Jim Harbaugh. The Falcons are coming off three consecutive 7W-10L under Arthur Smith. For already a couple of years, the Falcons have had a deadly combo of explosive skill position players and steady offensive lines. Despite having a few of the most athletic weapons in the league, such as tight end Kyler Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson, Atlanta ranked 26th in the NFL in points scored in 2023. I’m aware that Smith hasn’t had good play from the quarterback position, but his lack of ability to take advantage of the talent and potential on his roster was inexcusable.
With Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algeier at running back, Drake London and Mack Hollins at receiver, and Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith at tight end, if Harbaugh can find his quarterback this offense will become a force to be reckoned with. Atlanta does have the resources to get a franchise quarterback. They possess 26 million dollars in available cap space and the 8th overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. It would be cool if Harbaugh used the 8th pick on JJ McCarthy, the quarterback he recently won it all with. The NFC South is currently the weakest division in football, so Harbaugh can come in and contend immediately. The Falcons’ defense is solid, with stars such as Jesse Bates, Grady Jarrett, and AJ Terrell carrying the load. Why not let the Michigan boys take over in Atlanta?
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS:
The Los Angeles Chargers are the most confusing team in the NFL. Their roster is incredible, top to bottom. Leading the charge at quarterback, they have Justin Herbert, who has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league since entering the NFL in 2020. Herbert has a 19-7 TD-INT ratio while averaging 278 yards per game, in total a career passer rating of 95.7. The fact that Herbert’s career record is 30W-32L is ridiculous. At running back, Austin Ekeler has 3 consecutive seasons of 1,000 plus scrimmage yards while averaging 9 touchdowns a year. At receiver, they have Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, under Herbert they both average over 70 yards per game. The that this team has ranked 13th and 21st in points scored over the past two years is outrageous.
On the other side of the ball, Los Angeles has two of the top edge rushers in the game. Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa should be the most unstoppable pass-rushing duo in the league as they both put up over 0.66 sacks per game throughout their career. While on the back end, they have 3-time all-pro safety Derwin James. The fact that this team has ranked 21st and 24th in points allowed over the past two years is outrageous.
Not only have the Chargers been underperforming over the past couple of years, but they’ve also found hilarious ways to choke, on multiple occasions. The two primary examples are the way their 2021 and 2022 seasons ended.
2021:
The Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders faced off in the final game of the season. With both teams being 9W-7L, the loser wouldn’t make the playoffs. However, if they tied, both teams would clinch wildcard spots. It was a back-and-forth game all night long, with Herbert eventually finding Josh Palmer in the endzone in the closing moments to force overtime. After both teams exchanged field goals in overtime, the Raiders’ drive began to stall. With mere minutes remaining in the overtime period, Las Vegas decided to run out the clock and take the tie, sending both teams to the playoffs. But for no reason at all, the Chargers’ coach, Brandon Staley wanted to try to get the ball back to try to win the game. To stop the Raiders from ending the game in a tie, Staley called a timeout. The timeout forced the Raiders to kick a long field goal against their will. Daniel Carlson clutched up and nailed the long kick, sending the Chargers home.
2022:
This time the Chargers actually made the playoffs. As the top wildcard team, Los Angeles traveled to Jacksonville to face the worst division winners, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Herbert and company showed why they were the top wildcard team by jumping out to a 27-0 lead in the first half. The Jaguars were able to score once right before halftime, but there was still no way the Chargers could blow their lead. Nevertheless, the Jaguars outscored the Chargers 24-3 in the second half to win 31-30 on a walk-off field goal by Riley Patterson.
With all their players and all their stats being good, the only possible explanation for the Chargers' lack of success is their coaching. After losing by 42 points to the Raiders in week 15, Los Angeles finally fired Brandon Staley. Over three seasons with all that talent, Staley’s record was 24W-24L. The Chargers were the very first team to interview Jim Harbaugh this offseason. Just imagine how much success Jim Harbaugh can have with this loaded roster.
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