Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has expressed his admiration for former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, stating that he would welcome him onto his coaching staff. The two have a history of working together, having spent four seasons together with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014.
Harbaugh revealed that he had spoken to Kaepernick about joining the Chargers’ staff in a non-playing capacity, but nothing has materialized as of yet. Kaepernick is still holding out hope of resuming his playing career, which has been on hold since 2017.
“Yeah, we talked a little bit about it,” Harbaugh said. “He’s considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then. That was early, early in the year.”
Harbaugh has been a long-time supporter of Kaepernick, who has been out of the league since 2017. Despite his controversial exit from the NFL, Harbaugh believes Kaepernick has a lot to offer and could be an asset to the team.
In a recent interview, Kaepernick expressed his desire to return to the NFL, stating that he continues to train and is ready to contribute to a team. He believes he could help a team win a championship, and Harbaugh agrees.
“We’ve just got to get one of these team owners to open up,” Kaepernick said. “It’s something I’ve trained my whole life for, so to be able to step back on the field, I think that would be a major moment, a major accomplishment for me. I think I could bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship.”
A few NFL teams have shown interest in Kaepernick, including the Las Vegas Raiders, and Harbaugh has been instrumental in helping him get back into the league. In 2022, Harbaugh arranged for Kaepernick to hold a workout at halftime of the Michigan Wolverines’ spring game.
Harbaugh believes Kaepernick has a lot to offer and could be an asset to the team. He has already expressed his admiration for the former quarterback, stating that he sees him as a hero.
“I see him as a hero,” Harbaugh said. “Heroes get no days off. And he’s being a hero right now and he’s not getting any days off. It’s not for me to choose what path he takes. That’s his decision.”
Kaepernick’s potential return to the NFL has been met with controversy, but Harbaugh believes that the reasons that have kept him out of the league for the past eight years would be no issue for him.
Kaepernick’s protests against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016 led to him being effectively blackballed from the NFL. However, in 2020, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell declared that “Black lives matter” and “we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
Kaepernick later sued the league for collusion and the sides reached an undisclosed settlement. Despite the controversy, Harbaugh believes Kaepernick has a lot to offer and could be an asset to the team.