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We all know Jim Harbaugh, the coach. We have become so used to seeing him on the sidelines. It is difficult to imagine him as a football player. But even if he played football, did he reach the zenith of the sport in the NFL? Or did his career finish at college? If he did play in the NFL, was he just a nobody, or did he have sustained success?
Let us look at all these questions and get to know more about Jim Harbaugh.
Jim Harbaugh is a former first round pick
Jim Harbaugh played as a quarterback for the University of Michigan. He played there from 1983 to 1987. In the 1987 NFL draft, he was selected in the first round as the 26th pick overall by the Chicago Bears, where he would work under legendary coach Mike Ditka.
In his rookie season, he just played a couple of games against the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers. His appearances in the 1988 season were also sporadic. While he featured in 10 games, he started in only a couple of them.
It was only in 1989 that he began regularly featuring after the departure of Jim McMahon. He started five games, while Mike Tomczak started the other 11 in a 6-10 season for the Chicago Bears. He threw for 1204 yards, completing 111 of 178 passing attempts in a total of 12 games.
Jim Harbaugh became the undisputed starter in 1990 and started the first 14 games of the season. He threw for 2178 yards, leading to 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. After injuring his shoulder, he missed the last two games of the regular season and the playoffs.
In 1991 he started all the games for the Chicago Bears, and they finished 11-5, just like the season before. He had 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and was sacked 24 times. The following year, after a 5-11 season, Mike Ditka was fired and after another losing 7-9 season in 1993, Jim Harbaugh moved to the Indianapolis Colts.
In 1994, his first in Indianapolis, Jim Harbaugh was the starter for nine games, losing his place midway before being renamed in Week 15. He made it to his one and only Pro Bowl the following year in 1995 when he also finished runner-up in the MVP rankings. He threw 17 touchdown passes that season and finished with a quarterback rating of 100.7, winning him the AFC player of the year and the Comeback Player of the Year awards.
In the 1996 and 1997 seasons, Jim Harbaugh regressed, finishing his last season with the Colts with a 2-9 record. Still, he was later inducted into their Ring of Honor.
He spent the 1998 season with the Baltimore Ravens before spending a couple of years with the San Diego Chargers. He played for the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers in 2001 before hanging up his cleats. In 2002, he would become the quarterbacks' coach for the Oakland Raiders, the beginning of his coaching career.
