Chargers back in San Diego for 2 days at school where Harbaugh landed 1st head coaching job

SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Chargers returned to San Diego on Tuesday for the first time since they bolted for Los Angeles eight years ago, holding the first of two practices at the small college stadium where Jim Harbaugh began his head coaching career in the mid-2000s.

Harbaugh ran the Chargers through their first padded practice of training camp at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego, a hilltop Jesuit school about five miles west of the site where they used to play.

It was just the second time the Chargers have held a practice in San Diego County since 2017, when owner Dean Spanos moved them to Los Angeles after he was unable to get a stadium deal in San Diego. They held a walkthrough at Camp Pendleton in far northern San Diego County during minicamp in 2024.

The Bolts haven’t held a public event or practice here since their acrimonious split with the city they called home for 56 seasons. Tickets to Tuesday’s practice were made available to active-duty military and veterans, and tickets to Wednesday’s practice were available to season ticket holders.

The 6,500-seat stadium appeared half full. A dozen or so fans watched from a public sidewalk overlooking the stadium.

There were a lot of No. 10 Justin Herbert jerseys in the crowd, and also some from the San Diego days, including Philip Rivers – who quarterbacked the Chargers in both cities – LaDainian Tomlinson and Junior Seau.

The Chargers were scheduled to hold a walkthrough on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday evening.

While some San Diegans still follow the Chargers, many remain bitter or have moved on from the NFL.

Harbaugh said the idea to practice in San Diego “came from the organization. I heard the idea and said, ‘Heck yeah, let’s do it and a suggestion, if I might, let’s do it at USD.’ This is about as good as it gets.”

Harbaugh was asked if having practices here was the sign of the team extending an olive branch to San Diego, where he still owns a home.

“I don’t know anything about that. I never once heard the olive branch analogy used,” he said. “We love our fans. We love our LA fans, we love San Diego fans, Santa Barbara, Fresno. We just want to go to our fans, wherever they might be. Stockton. I want to go to Stockton. Just all those that come to see us, we want to go to them whenever we can.”

Harbaugh played for the Chargers in 1999, when he replaced injured quarterback Ryan Leaf, and in 2000, when he started five games during a 1-15 season.

He said he often visited USD for basketball and baseball games and befriended Monsignor Daniel Dillabough.

“One basketball game I asked him if we could go look at the football field,” Harbaugh said. “I stood on the top of the hill and said, ‘This is incredible. Someday, when I get done playing, I’m going to go into coaching, and it would be incredible if this is where I coached.'”

He was quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders when the USD job opened in 2004.

“I saw they had an opening for head coach and called Monsignor Dillabough and said, ‘Remember what I said about five years ago?’ And he said, ‘I was hoping you would call.'”

He coached at USD for three seasons, going 29-6 overall.

“It was my first head coaching opportunity, and the thing I’ve asked Monsignor before, ‘What did you see in me to make you think I’d be a good head football coach?’ I’d still like to know. He hasn’t told me that.”

Harbaugh said he wanted to get the blessing of Al Davis, who asked, “‘Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to be a pro coach.’ I said, ‘Mr. Davis, I really want to emulate your career. I know you started as a college coach and I want to take the same path.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, but that was USC, not USD.’ That’s a fond memory for me.”

Harbaugh went on to coach at Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and Michigan. He led the Wolverines to the national championship to cap the scandal-plagued 2023 season. He was hired by the Chargers and led them to an 11-6 record last season before they lost to Houston in the wild-card round.

He said being back at USD was “incredible. As the buses came through, the little hairs on my arm were standing up.”

Harbaugh praised Rivers, who on Monday announced in a video that he was retiring as a Charger. The quarterback played 16 seasons for the Chargers and last played for Indianapolis in 2020.

“Nothing but the highest respect for Philip Rivers,” Harbaugh said. “He was so good and I just appreciate him in every way. The thing that always stands out to me is coaching against Philip, when the 49ers played the Chargers, his enthusiasm for the game is right there with Derwin James.

“His ability to talk, during the play, sometimes he was directing it at the players, one time he directed it over at me,” Harbaugh said. “Really, I guess, talk smack, as the young people say, and to do it without swearing is just another level of eliteness. Tremendous competitor. Everyone in the organization has love and appreciation for Philip Rivers. We’re excited he’s going to retire as a Charger.”