Jim Harbaugh Offers Colin Kaepernick Coaching Job With Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that he has offered a coaching position to free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The former San Francisco 49ers star has not yet responded, and may still be considering a comeback as a player.

“He’s considering it,” Harbaugh said of his talks with Kaepernick. “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.”

After a promising start to his NFL career, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2012, Kaepernick’s career took a tumultuous turn in 2016. After kneeling for the national anthem to protest racial injustice during the 2016 season, Kaepernick went unsigned in free agency and sued the NFL for conspiring to punish him for his activism.

Some coaches, including Pete Carroll, defended the quarterback and claimed that he should have been rostered. Carroll claims to have considered signing him to the Seahawks at one point, but couldn’t offer a starting position. Others argued that Kaepernick’s injury history and performance regression made him difficult to sign. He agreed to an undisclosed settlement with the league in 2019.

Since then, Kaepernick has consistently stated that he feels prepared to return to the quarterback position in the NFL, but teams have become increasingly wary of signing him. Harbaugh’s coaching offer could represent another way to re-enter the league.

Speaking to reporters, Harbaugh added that Kaepernick could be a “tremendous” coach, and that he wanted to work with him on the Chargers. Harbaugh, a former player himself, coached Kaepernick for most of his NFL career with the 49ers.

After years of half-hearted scouting efforts and loose discussions, Harbaugh’s coaching offer for Kaepernick appears to be a solid, genuine offer. It may not be the manner in which the 36-year-old prefers to rejoin the NFL, but it may be the only path remaining.