Jim Harbaugh could not resist the chase for a Super Bowl championship.
Harbaugh took the job with the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday. He leaves Michigan – where he led the Wolverines to their first national championship since 1997 this season.
Harbaugh now has a chance to join a unique fraternity with his return to the NFL if he accomplishes that ultimate goal. Harbaugh has a chance to become the fourth coach to win a Super Bowl and a national championship. Paul Brown also won a national championship and a NFL championship before the Super Bowl era.
Harbaugh coached San Francisco from 2011-14. He led the 49ers to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens. Harbaugh led Michigan to the national championship with a perfect 15-0 record, which culminated with a 34-13 victory against Washington in the College Football Playoff championship game.
Who are those coaches who won a championship at the college and pro levels? A closer look:
Who was the first coach to win a NFL championship and national title?
Paul Brown coached at Ohio State for three seasons, and he led the Buckeyes to a 9-1 record and a national championship in 1942. That team featured Les Horvath, who would win the Heisman Trophy in 1944.
Brown would take the job with the Cleveland Browns in 1946. He led Cleveland to four championships in the All-America Football Conference before the team joined the NFL. He led Cleveland to NFL championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955.
Brown then founded the Cincinnati Bengals and was the coach from 1968-75. Brown never won a Super Bowl.
How many coaches have won a Super Bowl and national championship?
Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll are the three coaches who have won a national championship in college football and a Super Bowl in the NFL.
That select group enjoyed high success at both levels.
Jimmy Johnson
Johnson became the first coach to win a national championship and a Super Bowl. He led the Cowboys to back-to-back championships with victories against the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII. Johnson previously had led the Miami Hurricanes to a national championship in 1987. He was 52-9 with Miami in college from 1984-88.
Barry Switzer
Switzer compiled a 157-29-4 with Oklahoma from 1973-88, and he led the Sooners to three national championships in 1974, 1975 and 1985. He succeeded Jimmy Johnson in Dallas in 1994. Switzer had a 40-24 record with the Cowboys from 1994-97, and he led the Cowboys to their last NFL championship with a 27-17 victory against Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX.
Pete Carroll
Carroll coached New England from 1997-99 before going to the college game. He won two national championships at USC in 2003 and 2004. The 2004 BCS championship was later vacated, but the Trojans still kept the AP national title from that season. Carroll was 97-19 at USC. Carroll compiled a 137-89-1 record with Seattle from 2010-23, and that included a 43-8 victory against Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Coaches who won national titles but did not win Super Bowl
A look at four notable coaches who national championships in college but were unable to find the same success in the NFL:
Lou Holtz
Holtz was 249-132-7 at the college level through stops at William & Mary, NC State, Minnesota, Arkansas, Notre Dame and South Carolina. He won the national championship with the Irish in 1988. Holtz’s only season as a NFL coach with the New York Jets in 1976 produced a 3-10 record.
Nick Saban
Saban won seven national championships between his time at LSU and Alabama, and he’s considered the greatest college football coach of all time. He has 292 wins as a FBS coach. Saban was 15-17 in two seasons with the Dolphins from 2005-06 before taking the job at Alabama.
Steve Spurrier
Spurrier was 122-27-1 at Florida from 1990-2001, and he led the Gators to a national championship between 1996. He totaled 228 wins between his time with Duke, Florida and South Carolina. Spurrier was 12-20 in a two-year stint with Washington before returning to college football with the Gamecocks.
Urban Meyer
Meyer won two national championships at Florida in 2006 and 2008, and he added a third with Ohio State in 2014. Meyer had 187 wins through stops at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He lasted less than one season with Jacksonville, where he compiled a 2-11 record in 2021.
Coaches who won Super Bowl but did not win national title
A look at three notable coaches who won the Super Bowl but did not win a national championship as a college football coach.
Bill Walsh
Walsh led San Francisco to victories in Super Bowl XVI, Super Bowl XIX and Super Bowl XXIII and had a 92-59-1 record from 1979-88. He also had two stints at Stanford from 1977-78 and 1992-94 that produced a 34-24-1 record.
George Seifert
Seifert won Super Bowl XXIV and Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers. He had a 114-62 record between stints with San Francisco and Carolina. Seifert coached two seasons at Cornell from 1975-76 in the Ivy League. He was 3-15 with the Big Red.
Tom Coughlin
Coughlin coached three seasons at Boston College from 1991-93, and he’s best known for leading the Eagles to a 41-39 upset against No. 1 Notre Dame on Nov. 20, 1993. Coughlin went on to coach the Jaguars and Giants. He led New York to victories in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
Will Jim Harbaugh win a Super Bowl in NFL return?
Harbaugh is back in the NFL game – where has not coached since 2014. Still, the track record of success is strong, and he will have a talented roster that features quarterback Justin Herbert and edge rushers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. The Chargers also have the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Chargers have made one Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. They advanced to Super Bowl XXIX in 1994 under Bobby Ross, who led Georgia Tech to a national championship in 1990. The Chargers lost 49-26 to San Francisco.
Harbaugh was a quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts that season, and he spent the final two seasons of his playing career with the Chargers in 1999-2000. Now, he will try to lead Los Angeles to the Super Bowl.