Justin Herbert joins long line of quarterbacks to win Jim Harbaugh's affection

The Los Angeles Chargers‘ Week 1 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders marked a seminal moment in the relationship between quarterback Justin Herbert and coach Jim Harbaugh.

After the national anthem ended, Harbaugh pounded Herbert’s shoulder pads with his palms. Herbert, unprepared, attempted to go for a hug, but Harbaugh continued the barrage of slaps and punches to Herbert’s pads.

The pad-punching stems from Harbaugh’s 14-year playing career, a tip he learned from Bears teammate and Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton to ease his nerves. Harbaugh has continued that ritual each game and Herbert’s willingness to participate surprised some players.

“Justin has always hated cameras and things where he’s the center of attention,” left tackle Rashawn Slater said, “but I see him smiling when [Harbaugh] does it, so I’m like, that must be a sign that he really respects Coach.”

One of the hallmarks of Harbaugh’s coaching career has been his relationships with the quarterbacks he has coached. From Josh Johnson at the University of San Diego to Colin Kaepernick with the San Francisco 49ers, Harbaugh has helped elevate the quarterbacks of his teams. But his relationship with Herbert is different. Harbaugh has been enamored with the 26-year-old Herbert since he took the job, fascinated by Herbert’s size, intelligence and even his clothes.

Herbert, typically reserved and deflective of public praise, appears to have stepped outside his comfort zone to embrace Harbaugh.

“He’s a guy that everyone wants to follow and play for,” Herbert said.

It’s a relationship that will be crucial to a Chargers franchise that expects to contend for the organization’s first Super Bowl on the backs of Harbaugh and Herbert. The results on the field have fluctuated through six weeks, with Herbert recording career lows in almost every passing category, for the 3-2 Chargers ahead of “Monday Night Football” against the Arizona Cardinals (8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

“It is a little bit of a bromance,” tight end Hayden Hurst said. “I think Jim wants to really emulate Justin. He’s got all the physical traits that Jim said he doesn’t have, so it’s kind of funny. I think they complement each other well.”

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Like many players, Herbert often gives his teammates high-fives and slaps their helmets as they come off the field after big plays. But Harbaugh told Herbert earlier this season that that ritual needed to end.

“He said not with the right hand,” Herbert said. “I can do high-fives with the left hand.”

Harbaugh wants Herbert to protect the franchise’s most valuable hand. A fractured right index finger ended Herbert’s season in Week 14 last year, and the Chargers went winless in that span, so Harbaugh’s logic is sound. Still, that interaction admittedly made outside linebacker Joey Bosa jealous.

“What about me? My fingers are already so destroyed. It doesn’t even matter,” Bosa joked. “But no, [Harbaugh] treats him how he should treat him, and I think their relationship is fun to watch.”

That relationship can often look like Harbaugh mimicking Herbert in the way a younger brother might with an older one. Harbaugh said he wants to be best friends with Herbert, and that “if you don’t like — you don’t love — Justin Herbert, there’s something wrong with you.”

At the same news conference, Harbaugh said he’d begun wearing the same Nike sneakers as Herbert, asking the equipment staff to get him a pair of “those Justin Herbert” shoes. He stepped to the left of the podium to show reporters the white and black sneakers.

That admiration extends to other areas, like in a team meeting earlier this season when Herbert began doing calf raises and Harbaugh followed suit. “Jim’s looking him up and down and started doing calf raises, too,” Hurst said while hysterically laughing.

Harbaugh played quarterback for 14 years in the NFL but never had Herbert’s passing ability; it’s one of the reasons why he admires Herbert. Harbaugh told reporters that if he had the choice of genes to trade with Herbert during his playing career, Herbert’s arm talent would be at the top of the list. Harbaugh also once said he began coaching backup quarterbacks Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke differently because Herbert is “unreplicable.”

On the field, the relationship hasn’t yielded overwhelming success for Herbert. In fact, Herbert is off to the worst statistical start of his career. For all of Harbaugh’s affection for Herbert, offensive coordinator Greg Roman has employed Herbert’s arm less than prior coaches.

“If we throw 500 times or 50 times, we just have to be executing as an offense,” Herbert said. “Selfishly, I love to throw the football, but I want to get this offense to be as best as we can and what that looks like changes from week to week.”

Through six games, Herbert has career lows in passing yards (815), attempts (125) and completions (80). Some of his statistical drop-off could be attributed to Herbert dealing with a high right ankle sprain since Week 2 of this season, but the offense hasn’t leaned on Herbert the way coordinators have in previous years. He entered this season averaging the most passing attempts per game in NFL history (39.1).

The offensive strategy shifted, however, in the Chargers’ Week 6 win over the Denver Broncos.

Herbert looked like his old self, finishing with season-highs in passing yards (237), completions (21) and attempts (34) while throwing for a touchdown.

“Hopefully, this reminds everybody that Justin Herbert’s really good at playing quarterback,” Harbaugh said.

It was another moment where Harbaugh was using a news conference to compliment Herbert — a strategy he’s used his entire career to build confidence in his quarterbacks.

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At the league meetings in March, there were many topics that Harbaugh had to address publicly for the first time since taking the coaching job; chief among them was the decision to trade longtime Charger Keenan Allen.

But that day, Harbaugh made waves for his praise of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who played under Harbaugh at the University of Michigan and was expected to be a first-round pick. Harbaugh called McCarthy the best quarterback in the draft and said McCarthy had the best throwing pro day he’d ever seen.

Harbaugh’s public infatuation with McCarthy raised questions about whether Harbaugh would be willing to trade Herbert, with multiple teams reaching out to the Chargers to inquire about a trade. Those calls were quickly shot down by general manager Joe Hortiz, who already knew more than most how much Harbaugh admired Herbert.

Since Harbaugh began as a head coach 20 years ago at the University of San Diego, his vocal admiration for quarterbacks who have played for him has been instinctual. That much was evident after Harbaugh had to briefly leave the Chargers’ Week 6 game against the Broncos with an irregular heartbeat. After the game, Harbaugh reflected on the last time he felt similar discomfort, which he said was during a 2012 game when he coached the 49ers. He quickly mentioned Kaepernick. “Colin had a great night that night,” he said as an aside before describing a medical procedure he had following that game.

In Harbaugh’s second season at USD, he started quarterback Josh Johnson, a sophomore from Oakland, California, who was unsure about his football future. Harbaugh changed that.

Johnson had one of the best careers in Toreros history. He still holds school records for career efficiency rating (176.7), completion percentage (.679), and touchdown passes in a season (43). Johnson has played in the NFL since 2008 and is now a Baltimore Raven playing for Jim’s brother, John Harbaugh. Johnson credits his lengthy NFL career to Jim Harbaugh’s influence.

“It was life-changing for me to play for him,” Johnson said. “He instilled a lot of confidence in me. He was the first person that told me, with conviction, ‘You’re going to play in the NFL.’ Even before I believed it, he believed it.”

Harbaugh’s consistent public praise is paired with a gentle and patient approach to coaching the position, which players say is unusual. It’s been a unique experience for Heinicke, who has been with the team for less than two months. He was surprised at Harbaugh’s relatively calm approach to mistakes, juxtaposing it to his experience playing under Norv Turner, the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers when Heinicke played in both spots.

Heinicke said Turner is one of his favorite coaches of all time, but he was “terrified” of Turner because of the way he disciplined him and other quarterbacks for making mistakes. “I still have nightmares about him a little bit,” Heinicke said.

“Harbaugh’s definitely more encouraging than other guys I’ve been around,” he said.

It was a similar experience for Stick, who has been with the Chargers since 2019, backing up Herbert through three different coaches. Stick said that Harbaugh’s experience playing quarterback frames his approach, making him more patient than other coaches.

Still, Heinicke and Stick both said Harbaugh’s process and relationship is special with Herbert.

“There’s definitely a love there and a respect there that’s pretty unique,” Stick said with a smile.

NFL reporter Jamison Hensley contributed to this story.