Jim Harbaugh is back in the NFL, as he landed the Los Angeles Chargers head-coaching job this offseason. Before leaving the professional ranks for the University of Michigan, he found success as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, going 44-19-1 as lead man -- which included a Super Bowl XLVII appearance against his brother, John Harbaugh. Colin Kaepernick quarterbacked for that 49ers team, and Harbaugh was angling for a type of reunion this year.
In a recent interview with USA TODAY Sports, Jim Harbaugh said he reached out to Kaepernick earlier in the year about potentially joining his coaching staff. However, months later there hasn't been any movement in the former signal-caller joining his former coach.
"Yeah, we talked a little bit about it," Harbaugh said. "He's considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven't reconnected since then. That was early, early in the year."
However, Harbaugh has since clarified his remarks about Kaepernick's coaching future by saying on Thursday that his former quarterback could join his staff next year at the earliest since his 2024 Chargers staff is complete.
"I love Colin, but he's not going to be on the coaching staff, which is set for this year. And he's not going to be playing on the roster either," Harbaugh said Thursday.
He revealed this opportunity wasn't the first he has offered to Kaepernick, noting that he reached out to him about jobs on his Michigan Wolverines coaching staffs.
"I have thought that for a long time. Just the respect that I have for the football mind he has and the football man that he is," Harbaugh said when asked why he thinks Kaepernick would be good at coaching. ... "[Deceased Raiders owner] Al Davis saw something in me that made him think I would be a good coach, and I see those same qualities in Colin. If it is something he chooses."
Harbaugh said Kaepernick was one of his favorite players that he ever coached, and that if he were to one day coach football, he would be great at it.
"If that was ever the path he was to take, I think that would be tremendous," Harbaugh said. "He'd be a tremendous coach, if that's the path he chose."
While he's now 36 years old, Kaepernick hasn't given up on his dream of returning to the NFL ranks as a player. He recently told Sky Sports that he's still waiting for that opportunity.
"We're still training, still pushing," Kaepernick said when asked if we will see him in the NFL again. "So hopefully, we've just got to get one of these team owners to open up."
When asked what it would mean to him to play in the league again, Kaepernick mentioned that he's still capable of helping a team find success.
"I mean, it's something I've trained my whole life for," Kaepernick said. "So to be able to step back on the field, I think that would be a major moment, a major accomplishment for me. Also, I think it's something that I could bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship."
Kaepernick took his last NFL snap on New Year's Day 2017, but Harbaugh did recently help him in getting some exposure. At halftime of Michigan's 2022 spring game, Kaepernick threw for Wolverine fans in a workout that was broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network. That led to a workout with the Las Vegas Raiders the following month, but nothing came of it.