Jim Harbaugh, who is off to lead the Los Angeles Chargers after winning a national championship with Michigan, is walking an increasingly rare path by jumping from college to the NFL. Since 2014, he is just the third sitting college football head coach to be hired in the same role by a professional team.
This isn't new for Harbaugh, though. He left Stanford for the San Francisco 49ers in 2011 and embarked on a four-year journey that saw him lead the franchise to three straight playoff berths in the first three years of his tenure. The 49ers reached Super Bowl 47 and had a 5-3 overall postseason record with Harbaugh running the show .
The franchise eventually parted ways with Harbaugh, which led to his hiring at Michigan in 2014 and the subsequent steady build towards the top of the mountain. San Francisco, meanwhile, didn't return to the playoffs until 2019.
This to say, Harbaugh is a rare breed. Since 2000, 13 college coaches have been hired by the NFL. Eight of them lasted no more than three seasons at a single stop. In that span, former college coaches boast an overall record of 405-429-3 -- not terrible on the surface, but made significantly worse with the added context that 10 of those coaches finished their NFL careers with a losing record.
| Coach | College | NFL | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
Butch Davis | Miami (1995-2000) | Cleveland Browns (2001-04) | 24-35 |
Steve Spurrier | Washington Redskins (2002-03) | 12-20 | |
Nick Saban | Michigan State (1995-99), LSU (2000-04) | Miami Dolphins (2005-06) | 15-17 |
Bobby Petrino | Louisville (2003-06) | Atlanta Falcons (2007) | 3-10 |
Pete Carroll | USC (2001-09) | Seattle Seahawks (2010-23) | 137-89-1 |
Jim Harbaugh | Stanford (2007-10) | San Francisco 49ers (2011-14) | 44-19-1 |
Greg Schiano | Rutgers (2001-11) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13) | 11-21 |
Doug Marrone | Syracuse (2009-12) | Buffalo Bills (2013-14), Jacksonville Jaguars (2016-2020) | 38-60 |
Chip Kelly | Oregon (2009-12) | Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15), San Francisco 49ers (2016) | 28-35 |
Bill O'Brien | Penn State (2012-13) | Houston Texans (2014-20) | 52-48 |
Kliff Kingsbury | Texas Tech (2013-18) | Arizona Cardinals (2019-22) | 28-37-1 |
Matt Rhule | Baylor (2017-19) | Carolina Panthers (2020-22) | 11-27 |
| Urban Meyer | Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2002-04), Florida (2005-10), Ohio State (2012-18) | Jacksonville Jaguars (2021) | 2-11 |
Carroll's inclusion might seem a bit odd. He had NFL coaching experience prior to taking the USC job and, in fact, spent three years leading the New England Patriots from 1997-99. In that span, he made two playoff appearances and was fired without ever having a losing season.
He didn't coach for two years after his stint with the Patriots, serving as a consultant, and his stint with the Trojans served to revitalize his image and repair his stock in the eye of NFL front offices. He led USC to seven straight Pac-10 Championships and two national titles before returning to the NFL with the Seahawks and embarking on one of the greatest modern runs in professional football. Without his time at USC, Seattle may not have won five NFC West titles and one Super Bowl from 2010-23.
But Carroll and Harbaugh serve as an exception -- not the rule. Without Carroll and Harbaugh carrying water, former college coaches are 224-321-2 in the NFL. Carroll and Harbaugh combined for 10 of the 18 total playoff appearances among coaches listed above. O'Brien is the only other coach with more than one postseason berth on his résumé; he led the Texans to four playoffs but never made it past the divisional round.
Many of these tenures ended in abject disaster. Neither Petrino nor Meyer got more than a year and failed miserably on the field, but Meyer's struggles went well beyond that. His entire tenure at Jacksonville was mired in controversy. He was fined in July 2021, a mere few months after his hiring, for violating NFL practice rules. In October, a video surfaced showing Meyer inappropriately contacting an unidentified female in his Columbus, Ohio, restaurant. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan had to make a public apology and even went so far as to say that Meyer had to regain the franchise's trust and respect. Then, in December, former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of physical abuse, which he reported to his agent and Jacksonville. Meyer was fired shortly after Lambo's accusations became public.
Few tenures went quite as poorly as Meyer's, though meaningful achievements are generally hard to find. Most former college coaches simply flamed out at an entirely different level before returning to college and the path of success. Saban, for instance, accepted an offer to become Alabama's coach after his brief time with the Dolphins and built the greatest dynasty in modern college football, winning six national titles before retiring in 2024.
Spurrier spent 11 years at South Carolina post-Washington and led the Gamecocks to nine bowl games and three AP top-10 finishes. Schiano (Rutgers), Kelly (UCLA) and Rhule (Nebraska) all currently hold head coaching positions at the collegiate level.
Harbaugh is a different case altogether. He's walked a unique path that's seen him, chronologically, have success in college at Stanford, success in the NFL with the 49ers, and then build a powerhouse at Michigan in the College Football Playoff era before making a return to the NFL. Though overall history isn't on his side, Harbaugh's personal experience suggests that the Chargers should be in good hands.
