Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh Issues Brutally Honest Verdict on Colin Kaepernick Offer Rumors

Jim Harbaugh expresses his brutally honest opinion on Colin Kaepernick joining his coaching team days after he commented that he would be an ‘excellent coach.’

By Pankti Parmar

Published on Aug 17, 2024 | 03:44 PM IST | 43.4K

JIm Harbaugh Colin Kaepernick

Jim Harbaugh finds himself in quite a precarious situation. The Los Angeles Chargers, Harbaugh’s freshly built NFL team with whom he has a good shot at completing his Super Bowl dream, are on one hand. On the other hand, he has the former star player of his former NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers, with a request. After weighing out the options, Jim Harbaugh has reached a conclusion. Unfortunately, it is not in favor of Colin Kaepernick.

"I love Colin, but he's not going to be on the coaching staff, which is set for this year. And he's not going to be playing on the roster either,” Jim Harbaugh said, settling the rumors for once and for all in a no-nonsense way after Thursday’s practice, per ESPN’s report.

Harbaugh’s strikingly opposite verdict on Kaepernick came just a couple of days after the report of Jarrett Bell of USA Today was released. Per the report, Jim Harbaugh had said that Kaepernick would be an “excellent match for the Chargers” and that “he'd be an excellent coach.” And it’s not just the report from USA Today that states this.

Several sources have claimed that Harbaugh was in talks with Kaepernick over the last couple of years to get him to join as a coach. Particularly why the sudden shift in Harbaugh’s words comes as a huge shocker for the whole NFL.

This comes as a major disappointment on Colin Kaepernick’s part since the once-star QB is now desperately vying for a comeback in the NFL after getting blackballed owing to his off-field activities back after the 2016 season owing to his protests based on his beliefs.

Kaepernick seems pretty adamant to make a daring and defiant comeback as a QB. Kaepernick even expressed his enthusiasm for getting selected as a QB for the 2028 LA Olympics for the flag football sport, a spot that is highly expected to go to Patrick Mahomes. Looking at the situation, however, the possibility of Kaepernick getting the spot looks thin.

Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports Radio even claimed that Kaepernick’s former connections in the NFL were just trying to help Kaepernick step his foot back in the NFL by offering him a coaching job. However, Kaepernick is adamant about not accepting any coaching offers and making a comeback as a player.

This seems to have irked off Jim Harbaugh, which potentially could be a reason for him closing the coaching offer for Kaepernick altogether. Well, at least for this season. As per Harbaugh’s words, Kaepernick may still have a shot at bagging the coaching role with the Chargers in the next season, only if he leaves his unwavering desire to step on gridiron as a player and can accept to step on the training grounds in the Chargers coaching uniform instead.

Looking at his performance as a Niners QB, as he led his team to a Super Bowl appearance, Harbaugh still has high hopes for him. This time around, however, Harbaugh would wish for the former QB to teach his skills to Justin Herbert to lead them to the Super Bowl.