Jim Harbaugh took the sideline Thursday night against a franchise he’s struggled with as a player and a coach.
But when his Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Minnesota Vikings at SoFi Stadium, Harbaugh came away with some history, joining Norm Van Brocklin as the only people in NFL history to earn 60 wins as both a starting quarterback and head coach.
Harbaugh got his 60th regular-season victory as a head coach on Thursday, improving his record to 60-28-1 in his sixth season — his second year with the Bolts after coaching the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14.
From 1987 through 2000, Harbaugh was an NFL quarterback who began his tenure as a 1987 first-round pick of the Chicago Bears. He played seven seasons with the Bears, four for the Indianapolis Colts — including a 1995 Pro Bowl season while leading the team to the AFC Championship Game — one with the Baltimore Ravens and two with the San Diego Chargers. He produced a 66-74 career record as a starting quarterback.
As a starting QB, Harbaugh was 3-8 against the Vikings, the most losses he had against any individual team. In the coaching ranks, Harbaugh was previously 0-1 versus Minnesota, having lost while leading the 49ers in 2012. Also of note was that Harbaugh lost out on the Vikings head coaching job when he interviewed for the gig in 2022. Of course, Minnesota hired Kevin O’Connell.