National Football League

Chargers' Denzel Perryman: Jim Harbaugh 'reminds me of Will Ferrell'

Published May. 21, 2024 2:09 p.m. ET

Linebacker Denzel Perryman is entering his second stint with the Los Angeles Chargers, but his first with Will Ferrell as head coach — or at least that's who Jim Harbaugh reminds him of.

Perryman discussed the initial impressions of his new head coach on Monday.

"My first impressions of Harbaugh — I hope I don't get in trouble for this — but he reminds me of Will Ferrell," Perryman said. "I don't know if it's the way that he talks, his analogies and everything, but they really remind me of Will Ferrell. It's just funny to me. It's funny, but I know he means well, and that everything comes from the heart. I feel like you got to have a sense of humor to understand some of his lines and gimmicks … I don't know, man; he's just giving Will Ferrell vibes. I don't know if it's his tone of voice or just the way he talks in general, but the first thing that comes to head is Will Ferrell.

"I mean, I do take him seriously. Everything he says, I take seriously, though. But when he does joke around, I start cracking up in my seat."

In fairness, it would be believable if a report revealed that Harbaugh told his players "if you ain't first, you're last" before they ran out on the field before a game.

By the way, does offensive coordinator Greg Roman remind Perryman of John C. Reilly? A question for another day, perhaps.

Perryman spent the first six seasons of his career with the Chargers (2015-20), who selected him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Miami, which was followed by a two-year stint with the Las Vegas Raiders (2021-22) and spending the 2023 season with the Houston Texans.

The veteran linebacker was a Pro Bowler in 2021, a season which saw him log a career-high 154 combined tackles. Last season, Perryman totaled 76 combined tackles and three passes defended across 12 games for the Texans.

Chargers rookie OT Joe Alt shares how his QB days helped him at O-line

Harbaugh is back in the NFL after leading the charge for his alma mater Michigan the past nine seasons, which was capped off by the Wolverines winning the College Football Playoff National Championship last season. He had previously been the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14, headlined by an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII and an overall 44-19-1 regular-season record.

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