Michigan's Jim Harbaugh Heading Back to the NFL

After leading Michigan to win this year's college football championship, Jim Harbaugh's next stop will be back to the NFL. He'll coach the Los Angeles Chargers (where he was quarterback in 1999 and 2000, when the team was still in San Diego), the team announced Wednesday. "Jim Harbaugh is football personified, and I can think of no one better to lead the Chargers forward," owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. "The son of a coach, brother of a coach and father of a coach who himself was coached by names like Schembechler and Ditka, for the past two decades Jim has led hundreds of men to success everywhere he's been—as their coach. And today, Jim Harbaugh returns to the Chargers, this time as our coach. Who has it better than us?"

The Chargers' last coach, Brandon Staley, was fired last month, CNN reports. The Los Angeles Times notes that the franchise has a "history of coming up short," having made it to the Super Bowl just once, in the 1994 season. The team has only won two playoff games in the last 15 years. The newspaper also notes Harbaugh is known for "turning programs around." He's coached in the NFL before, leading the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons. He's currently facing NCAA sanctions over allegations of recruiting violations and sign-stealing, and the NFL could enforce any penalties that are doled out. (More Los Angeles Chargers stories.)