It wasn’t just Jim Harbaugh’s coaching aptitude that was bound to transform the Spanos Chargers from a pretend franchise into one of the NFL’s sharp organizations.
Harbaugh knows player talent. Believe it or not, many head coaches struggle there.
The final Michigan team built by Harbaugh in its entirety continues to prove Harbaugh right.
Eighteen of that team’s draft-eligible players were invited to the 2024 NFL scouting combine. No other college team had received more than 16 invitations since 2003, per NFL Research.
Thirteen of those 18 Wolverines were drafted last April. Among the five who weren’t drafted, two spent the whole ‘24 season on an NFL practice squad. The other three undrafted players also signed with NFL teams.
First-round talent, less than overall depth, defines the second wave of draft-eligible players from the final full Harbaugh team.
In this year’s draft class, former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah’s top 30 players include four Michigan alums: defensive tackle Mason Graham (4), tight end Colton Loveland (6), cornerback Will Johnson (13) and defensive tackle Kenneth Grant (28).
Seventeen players going in an eight-round stretch seems likely then, for the final full Harbaugh team.
Harbaugh isn’t a coach who pays lip service to the importance of building powerful lines. Strong fronts have been a Harbaugh characteristic in his coaching career. In that respect, Harbaugh is similar to the folks who’ve built the Eagles into an NFL powerhouse.
Harbaugh has improved both Chargers lines since his hire two Januarys ago. Expect further upgrades in each unit, on top of the free-agent additions this month headed by guard Mekhi Becton, 25.
Michigan’s strong lines played a big role in the final full Harbaugh team winning the program’s first undisputed national title in 75 years.
Of the combine-record 18 Michigan players who went to Indianapolis soon after that club finished 15-0, seven were linemen. Two other linemen from that team, Graham and Grant, figure to start as NFL rookies this September.
Harbaugh understands the QB position better than most coaches, too.
Recent NFL decisions have further endorsed his efforts with Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy.
The Minnesota Vikings, who drafted McCarthy 10th overall last April after trading up one spot, decided not to retain veteran Sam Darnold despite his career-best 2024 season. Instead of applying the franchise tag to Darnold, the team let him become a free agent, leading the Seahawks to guarantee him $37.5 million.
The bye-bye to Darnold, 28, was a show of faith in McCarthy, who didn’t play as a rookie after suffering a knee injury in training camp.
Further, the Vikings may have had a chance to replace Darnold with Aaron Rodgers, now a free agent. Once again, they stuck with McCarthy, who’ll be 22 for all of the 2025 regular season.
Jeremiah, the lead draft analyst for NFL Network, said last month McCarthy would’ve been the top QB in this year’s draft class, meaning he could’ve gone first overall.
In the Chargers’ 11 seasons under the tandem of Dean and John Spanos after Dean promoted John atop the football office in San Diego — four years before the relocation — the Chargers defined mediocrity. They finished 20th of 32 NFL teams in win-loss record (84-95) and never won an AFC West title or earned a home playoff berth. In the same span, the rival Chiefs went to three Super Bowls, winning two, and the rival Broncos went to two Super Bowls, winning one.
Coming off Michigan’s 15-0 season, Harbaugh commanded a higher salary ranking and more football power than any Chargers head coach hired in the Spanos Era, which began in 1984.
As the next NFL draft will further demonstrate, it was a smart investment.
Originally Published: March 29, 2025 at 3:07 PM PDT