Jim Harbaugh Will Coach Monday Night After Heart Scare Against Denver Broncos

In the first quarter of the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh left the sideline and went into the blue medical tent. He returned to the field and finished coaching his team to a 23-16 win over their division rival. Harbaugh revealed after the game that his condition makes his heart beat too quickly and that it has happened to him before.

“It’s called atrial flutter. I got into an episode today with it. Doctors checked me out and it got back into a sinus rhythm, normal rhythm, so I came back,” he said. “I had a couple ablations, one in 1999 and one in 2012. I’ll always remember the one in 2012, it was during the Monday night game. Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers versus the Chicago Bears, and Colin had a great night that night. After the game, got checked out. Ended up having to have an ablation for that one because it didn’t go back into rhythm, but 2-0 with arrhythmias. It would take my heart stopping for me not to be out there on the sideline.”

Harbaugh says that his heart rate is being consistently monitored and that he is wearing a monitor. He does expect to coach on Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals. The Chargers look to win their second game in a row and keep pace with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. According to ESPN Bet, the Chargers are 2.5-point road favorites against the Cardinals.

Harbaugh is in his first season with the Chargers and his first year back in the NFL in ten years since he last coached the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. He recently won an NCAA National Championship at Michigan in 2023, fulfilling his dream to his alma mater before jumping back into the pros.