When Jim Harbaugh puts his traveling shoes on and changes coaching jobs, strange things often happen. He attacks the NCAA. He gets banned by the NCAA, even though he’s in the NFL. He’s named honorary Michigan captain for the Wolverines home opener, then he isn’t. And in perhaps the strangest story of all, both USA Today and The Athletic have reported that Harbaugh offered Colin Kaepernick a coaching job as Harbaugh begins his new gig with the Chargers.
Why would Harbaugh do this? Kaepernick has been largely radioactive in the NFL for several years now, so we’ll politely cover our eyes and ignore the intrinsic ugliness of that story. Instead, we’ll focus on the quarterback part, which is at least somewhat fascinating from a football perspective.
Jim Harbaugh’s Charger offense is sputtering
When Harbaugh took the LA job, most of us assumed he’d build up both lines, then ground and pound on a limited basis to give Justin Herbert a break from his gunslinging ways. It was a sound strategy, but so far there’s little evidence that it’s working.
Yes, it’s preseason, and yes, Herbert hasn’t played yet. But the Chargers offense looked ghastly against the Seahawks in their opener, with Easton Stick, Max Duggan, and someone named Luis Perez combining to go 14 for 32 with 121 yards, and Stick stuck a pick into that horrific stat line as well.
We know Harbaugh is conducting roster tryouts across the board right now, and part of what he’s doing is doubtless a toughness test. But he does need to pass to win in today’s NFL, which is where the quarterback angle enters the picture with Kaepernick.
Colin Kaepernick is available and will pass for peanuts
This past offseason was full of reports that Kaepernick was available, back in shape, and conducting workouts and tryouts for any number of teams. Most of these reports were probably eyeball candy, but several were serious enough to make some observers think Kaepernick was serious about his efforts to get back into the league.
That’s where the Harbaugh connection comes into play. Our collective memories have dimmed some at this point, but Kaepernick did make it to the Super Bowl with the 49ers under Harbaugh after a controversial move in which Harbaugh replaced check-down QB Alex Smith despite a successful start to that landmark 2013 season.
Given that he’s 36, it’s more than safe to assume that Kaepernick is a shell of the quarterback he once was. His accuracy was always somewhat spotty, and there are plenty of good non-political reasons why he never got a shot at rehabilitating his scattershot reputation.
If Kaepernick still has some arm strength, though, it makes sense that Harbaugh might at least want him in the quarterback room. It would be a risky move, but that kind of risk has never fazed Captain Comeback, who continues to display an amazing penchant for bizarre, off-the-wall stories.
On the football side, could Kaepernick really be worse than Stick, Duggan, and Perez? Perez did play for Texas A&M, but it was the other A&M, the one called the Commerce Lions, that plays in the Southland Conference and competes against the likes of Incarnate Word and Houston Christian.
We’re probably flogging a dead horse of a story here, given that Harbaugh’s conversations with his ex-QB supposedly took place back in January. But no coaching move is too strange for Jim Harbaugh, and how many of us would really be surprised if the new Chargers coach actually gives Kap an under-the-radar tryout at some point in the next few weeks if his offense under anyone but Herbert continues to struggle?
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