Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is known for his abilities and his last name is football royalty, but he’s also known for throwing out a zinger here and there.
Some of his press conferences have turned into high entertainment because you never know what he’s going to say. Here are some of the best quotes from Harbaugh.
“Who isn’t?”
We’re starting strong, with one of the more recent ones. During one of his press conferences ahead of the Chargers’ Week 12 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens and his brother, John Harbaugh, Jim referenced The Black Eyed Peas when talking about kickoff time.
“I like primetime, I always thought that, you know. It’s like — tonight’s gonna be a good night as The Black Eyed Peas — kind of feel — got my friends with me, and we’re going to go out and let’s make it a great night.”
A member of the media referenced the fact that Harbaugh was a Black Eyed Peas fan.
“Who isn’t?” Harbaugh responded.
“It feels like being born”
“It feels like being born,” Harbaugh said during training camp. “It feels like coming out of the womb. You’re in there. It’s comfortable and safe, and now you’re out. You’re born. Lights are on, it’s bright, chaos, people looking at you, people talking at you, and it just feels good to have it happen.”
When Harbaugh returned to the NFL to be the Chargers head coach, he arrived to training camp wearing cleats. He compared he reunion to… well, having a baby.
Brotherly Love… to an extent
I mentioned the matchup between his older brother, John, but when it comes to games, it’s all business.
“I love my brother and I’d lay down my life for my brother,” said Jim Harbaugh of John. “But I wouldn’t let him win a football game.”
The Harbaughs are interviewed pregame on ESPN.
Jim Harbaugh: “I’d lay down my life for my brother, but I would not let him win a football game.” 🏈🎙️ #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/fr94hrzXVx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 26, 2024
The Ravens went on to win, 30-23.
Harbaughisms
It turns out the quotes are hereditary.
The Harbaugh brothers’ dad, Jack, was a football coach and would always ask, “Who has it better than us?”
To which you’d reply (loudly), “NOBODY!”
“There are so many I’ve used over the years.” It’s so good, you have to watch it.
Spongebob
Look, it’s random, but this is important.
“I love Spongebob. Just the way it attacks with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
Spongebob is the perfect model of grit according to Jim Harbaugh @PardonMyTake pic.twitter.com/H6IZc6t3PG
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 5, 2019
Milk, it does a body good
Apparently, Harbaugh really loves milk. In 2015 as head coach at Michigan, Harbaugh was asked by a first-grader how much milk he needs to consume in order to be a quarterback. Harbaugh was absolutely tickled by the question. He asked for a hug.
Later, during an interview on HBO’s Real Sports, Harbaugh told Andrea Kremer that when he was a third-grader, he had heard milk gave you strong bones, and his goal was to be 6’2″. Well, he ended up being 6’3″. But it was a specific kind of milk he drank.
“I drank a lot of milk, Andrea. A lot of milk. Whole milk, though. Not the candy-ass two percent or skim milk.”
Jesus as a high school recruit
Harbaugh is a proud man of faith. So, he combined that with football when a theoretical rating came up ahead of last season’s Rose Bowl:
“Jesus would have been a five-star,” Harbaugh said in December 2023.
“It’s called a steak.”
They say a steak a day keeps the doctor away. Okay, so they don’t say that, but one would imagine Harbaugh says that. Harbaugh was asked by a parent about how to get their kid in shape to eventually be 6’5″. This was Harbaugh’s reponse:
“I take a vitamin every day,” Harbaugh said in 2015. “It’s called a steak.”
Maybe steak… and milk, I guess.
