When the Michigan Wolverines hired Jim Harbaugh as their head coach in December 2014, the task was obvious: Beat Ohio State and return the school to national relevance.
From 1997 until Harbaugh’s hiring, the Wolverines had fallen behind their bitter rival, as the Buckeyes won two national championships and played for two others. Michigan, on the other hand, had no championship appearances. And from 2001 to 2019, the Wolverines had only two wins in 19 tries against Ohio State.
Harbaugh would eventually get Michigan over the hump, beating the Buckeyes in each of his last three tries before winning a national championship after the 2023 season.
Less than three weeks after winning his final game with the Wolverines, Harbaugh accepted the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Chargers. And now, his task is eerily the same: Beat the Kansas City Chiefs and return the Chargers to national relevance.
While Los Angeles versus Kansas City isn’t quite Ohio State versus Michigan, the Chiefs are the team standing in everybody’s way in the NFL, but particularly their divisional opponents.
For a stretch in the aughts, the Chargers were the elite of the AFC West. From 2004-09, they won the division in five out of six seasons. In the next three, they finished no worse than third.
Since 2016, however, Kansas City has won the division every season. In that time, the Chiefs are also 12-3 against the Chargers, including five straight wins. (And for good measure, they’ve also won three Super Bowls in five years.)
Harbaugh, known for turning teams around dating back to his time as head coach at Stanford to his first NFL stint with the San Francisco 49ers, can’t be expected to knock off Kansas City overnight. The whole league, after all, is searching for answers against quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But Sunday will be an interesting test to see how close Los Angeles is to its current chief rival.
The Chiefs enter Sunday 11-1 and in first place in the AFC. At the same time, there are reasons to believe they are more vulnerable than in previous years.
Only two of Kansas City’s 11 wins have been by double digits. The team’s last five wins have come by an average of 4 points. Even though they are tied for the NFL lead in wins, the Chiefs are only 11th in point differential — behind multiple five-loss teams.
Mahomes, meanwhile, is averaging only 7.0 yards per attempt (tied with last season for a career low) and is on pace to throw the most interceptions he’s ever had in a single season. His passer rating of 92.2 is also a career worst.
Nobody is foolish enough to suggest Kansas City isn’t actually good. But there’s an argument to be made the Chiefs are more beatable than they have been in the last two seasons, both of which resulted in championships.
After the Chargers finished last year 5-12, Harbaugh has the team on an 11-win pace this season. He has put less on the plate of phenom quarterback Justin Herbert — whose passing yards per game are at a career low — and instead leaned more on a physical rushing attack.
The formula has worked so far, as Los Angeles is 8-4. It still needs to be proven against the best opponents, though, because the Chargers have only one win against a team currently over .500. And in the teams’ first matchup earlier this season, Kansas City beat Los Angeles 17-10.
Harbaugh is no stranger to big moments. He knocked off No. 1 USC as a 41-point underdog when he was coaching Stanford, beat Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs with San Francisco, and then finally found his way around Ohio State.
Though not as quite high stakes as some of his previous wins, Sunday’s game is the reason why Harbaugh will be on the Chargers’ sideline.