2024-08-15 01:35:02
Jaime Crawford/Getty Images
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is still holding out hope for a return to the league, and it sounds like there’s a spot waiting for him on Jim Harbaugh’s staff with the Los Angeles Chargers if he wants it.
Harbaugh told Jarrett Bell of USA Today that he had discussions with Kaepernick “about joining the Chargers in a non-playing capacity” shortly after he was hired as head coach in January. However, Kaepernick has yet to take him up on his offer.
“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.”
Kaepernick recently told Sky Sports that he is “still training, still pushing” for a return to the NFL. However, Harbaugh believes he’d find success if he were to transition to coaching.
“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.”
It’s likely that Kaepernick has yet to take Harbaugh up on his offer because of his desire to resume his playing career. He hasn’t been signed by a team since he became a free agent in 2017 after he ignited protests against police brutality and the killing of unarmed Black men by kneeling during the national anthem.
“I mean, it’s something I’ve trained my whole life for,” Kaepernick told Sky Sports of a potential return to the NFL. “So to be able to step back on the field would be a major moment, a major accomplishment for me.”
Harbaugh, who coached Kaepernick during their time together with the San Francisco 49ers, has been one of the biggest supporters of the signal-caller during his time away from the NFL. He organized an open workout for Kaepernick during a spring game at Michigan in 2022.
However, Bell noted that Harbaugh, through a team spokesperson, declined to comment when asked about Kaepernick’s continued desire to resume his playing career.
Harbaugh added that he understands that Kaepernick has other obligations as a civil rights activist that would factor into his decision on whether to join his coaching staff.
“I see him as a hero,” Harbaugh said. “Heroes get no days off. And he’s being a hero right now and he’s not getting any days off. It’s not for me to choose what path he takes. That’s his decision.”
