National Football League

Jim Harbaugh says Chargers will be relentless: 'Don't let powder blues fool you'

Published Feb. 1, 2024 8:06 p.m. ET

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — "Let's go!"

To say the least, the Los Angeles Chargers have hired an excitable and intense new energy guy in head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was introduced to local media in an hour-long press conference on Thursday.

"We're in one of the great cities there is," Harbaugh said. "One thing I know about Los Angeles and California is they respect talent, effort and winning. And it needs to be multiple championships.

"We're going to be humble and hungry, but that's our goal."

Asked if he's an L.A. guy, Harbaugh responded, "Yeah, I think so. I aspire to be."

He professed his love for "The Rockford Files," a show about a private investigator starring James Garner that was shot in Los Angeles during the 1970s. He said he wants to drive his RV out, park it next to the facility and "Jim Rockford it" — the character lived in a mobile home — until he finds a more permanent home when the franchise moves into a new training facility.

Harbaugh also described his arrival as the team's head coach like Red crossing the Mexican border in "The Shawshank Redemption."

"I just want to make it across the border," Harbaugh said. "I want to shake my friend's hand. That's how I feel. I want to win. I want to win the right way."

How fired up was the 60-year-old former NFL quarterback? Soon after the press conference, Harbaugh whisked over to the team's new headquarters in nearby El Segundo to help select new exercise equipment and other goodies for the facility in development.

It's no surprise Harbaugh is taking a hands-on approach to his new job, starting with the weight-room equipment his players will be using once the new digs open by the first week of June.

"He's been great," said Fred Maas, who's overseeing construction of the new facility. "He's obviously interested in what it means for the institution, what it means for his players. He wants to be invested in it. He is completely genuine and authentic. There's no façade."

Team owner Dean Spanos says the hiring of Harbaugh shows Chargers fans that the long-suffering franchise, one of 12 NFL teams yet to win a Super Bowl, is finally ready to chase a Lombardi trophy.

"It's exciting," Spanos said. "The fan base is excited. I'm getting emails, texts and cards — nice ones, they're very nice — and that's exciting. I'm really happy for the fans, No. 1.

"Obviously, there's going to be a lot of hard work. You heard the coach say it. He talks about what we're going to have to do, and the process we're going to have to go through. But I feel very confident. This is a great opportunity for all of us."

And indeed, that's why Harbaugh says he's returning to the NFL. He just won a national championship at Michigan, his alma mater, and he has coached in the Super Bowl. After the 2012 season, his San Francisco 49ers lost to John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens.

"It was time," he said. "I only have so much sand left in the hourglass. I want another shot to simply be known as a world champion."

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Harbaugh compared his relationship with new general manager Joe Hortiz — former Ravens director of player personnel — to Batman and Robin, with the head coach playing Robin in the offseason and Batman during the regular season.

Harbaugh, however, avoided answering the question about which person has control over personnel decisions.

He also acknowledged that it's not going to be easy to turn around a team that finished 5-12 last season. But he can lean on his experiences at the University of San Diego, Stanford, San Francisco and Michigan. He resurrected all four of those programs and turned them into winners.

"Humble and hungry, that's where we are right now," Harbaugh said. "We're going to respect our opponents, and we're going to strive to earn their respect. And we're going to earn our winning.

"We're going to be a tough team, a resilient team, a relentless team, a physical team. That's what we're going to aspire to be.

"Don't let the powder blues fool you."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.