As Jim Harbaugh wrapped up the final week of his first training camp as the Chargers Head Coach, he hosted a pair of special guests.
Harbaugh reveres his parents, Jack and Jackie, and jumped at the chance to spend time with them in late August. He even made sure the pair got to see him in action on game day when he they accompanied the Chargers to Dallas for their preseason finale against the Cowboys.
The Harbaughs know their son better than anyone else. They know what drives him, what makes him tick and what has made him a successful head coach everywhere he's been.
It's no surprise then that in the time they spent with Jim and his family in Southern California, they could see both a sense ease and eagerness in their son ahead of the 2024 season.
"Just being around football, he's so happy," Jack Harbaugh said. "Both my wife and I commented, this week we've been here he's just relaxed and happy.
"You can tell that he's really proud and happy to be back in the NFL with this organization and this team," Jack Harbaugh continued.
"Just a kind of a pumped-up type thing," Jack Harbaugh later added. "You can see in his eyes that he's excited to get out to practice. When he's in practice, engaging with the players and getting involved."
The surroundings are not unfamiliar to Jim Harbaugh, who is no stranger to the NFLor, for that matter, the Chargers.
Harbaugh, a first-round pick in 1987 by the Chicago Bears, spent the latter part of his 15-year NFL playing career with the Bolts, starting 17 games for the franchise over the course of the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
Harbaugh's football journey eventually led him to coaching. From his first head coaching position at the University of San Diego to Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and most recently the University of Michigan, his alma mater, Harbaugh has orchestrated turnarounds and experienced tremendous success at every stop.
Yet a piece of him always remained with the Bolts.
From the moment Harbaugh was hired in late January, he's worked to instill a winning culture that matches his own personal standards on a daily basis.
Harbaugh didn't mind getting his hands dirty along the way.
"I love to work. I love working and having something to work on," Harbaugh said. "I sit at my desk and hope somebody brings me something to work on.
"To get to do it in this kind of environment with these spectacular people, it's inspiring. It really is," Harbaugh continued. "So much to do, so much to learn. I feel like I'm on my feet all day. I've got stuff to do.
He later added: "Dare I say it, I'm having fun."
Harbaugh's impact on the Chargers has gone beyond the football field.
There is a buzz around the organization that is felt not only across Los Angeles but throughout the national football community as a whole.
You feel it as you head north of the 405 freeway and pass a billboard with Harbaugh's face.
You see it as NFL pundits discuss Harbaugh's return to the NFL on both the radio and TV.
Dean Spanos, Chargers Owner and Chairman of the Board, senses it, too.
"This would be an understatement, but I haven't been this excited in a long time," Spanos said. "I see it in the community, I see it in the organization from our staff to our players and our coaches. It's electrifying.
"I think Jim being here has brought a sense of awareness about our team … and I think the fans are so excited about that," Spanos added. "You see it everywhere you go."
Now though, the real work is about to begin as the Chargers embark on the 2024 season.
Harbaugh, who last coached in the NFL in 2014 with the 49ers, enters his fifth season as an NFL head coach with 44-19-1 record. That .695 NFL winning percentage is good for the fifth-best mark among any coach.
Harbaugh loves winning. He craves it. And there's a reason he wanted to return to the NFL.
When Harbaugh was with the 49ers, he led them to Super Bowl LXVII but fell short against a Ravens team coached by his brother, John.
At his introductory press conference on the first day of February, Harbaugh clearly laid out his main objective with the Chargers.
"I only have so many sands left in the hourglass and I want another shot," Harbaugh said. "I want another shot to be simply known as World Champions. The Lombardi Trophy, that's my mission."
It's not as if Harbaugh hasn't been on a mountaintop before. After all, he did just lead Michigan to a perfect 15-0 season and a national title.
But in an interview with Chargers.com, Harbaugh said he relishes the chance to once again chase a championship in the NFL.
"I figured this out the other day. I've been in college as a player or coach for 22 years," Harbaugh said. "And I've been in the NFL as a player or coach for 22 years. This is Year 23.
"One thing I know, it's the highest level. You talk about the other players and other coaches, they are competitors at the highest level," Harbaugh added. "They pull it out of you in a great way. It makes you more on top of your game."
Jack Harbaugh noted that the drive to win a world title likely played a role in Harbaugh coming back to the NFL.
"I think that's one of the things that was deep in his thought process, to be able to do that," Jack Harbaugh said. "When you're in high school, you want to win a state championship. When you're in college football, you want to win a national championship.
"Whatever [it is], that's the pinnacle," Jack Harbaugh added. "You're in the NFL now and you're competing to win, along with your team and your coaches to come together and win a championship. I'm sure that's his focus."
Those who have been around Harbaugh in previous stops — a group that includes both Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman and Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter — have seen him mold a team firsthand.
Minter, who was with Harbaugh at Michigan, described him as "one of the most elite leaders in all of sports."
"Some people have hobbies and different things to get their mind off things. Football is his job and his hobby," Minter said. "Team building is his job and his hobby. He pours everything he has into that."
Roman was asked if he thought Harbaugh would flip some sort of switch as the regular season draws near.
"Jim flipped the switch many years ago," said Roman, who was Harbaugh's offensive coordinator in San Francisco. "And it stayed flipped. It stuck.
"He's going all the time. It's one of the reasons he's been so great over the years," Roman added. "I don't really notice much difference, he's on all the time. That's Jim. One of the reasons we love him."
NaVorro Bowman has also seen Harbaugh work his coaching magic up close.
A four-time First-Team All-Pro linebacker with the 49ers under Harbaugh, Bowman joined the Bolts coaching staff this offseason as the linebackers coach.
"His approach and understanding of how to get a team to be focused on one single goal is great and has always been great," said Bowman, a three-time Pro Bowler with San Francisco. "That's the reason why he's won everywhere he has.
"Him coming off a national championship [at Michigan], I'm sure he's hungry to get one here," Bowman added.
A few weeks after accepting Spanos' offer to be the Chargers Head Coach, Harbaugh quipped that the early days with the Bolts were the best start to a job he'd ever had.
Now that he's been with the Bolts for nearly seven months — with his fingerprints all over the organization— Harbaugh's view hasn't changed.
And if you want a glimpse into how he's raised the bar in Los Angeles before the regular season has begun, just listen to an August 27 press conference in which he outlined his day-to-day mindset.
"'Satisfied'? That's a word I've never used in connection to football," Harbaugh said. "That word is a cringeworthy word. It would be in the bottom five as it relates to football.
"'Comfortable' would be right there with 'satisfied.' It just doesn't resonate for me," Harbaugh continued.
"'Engaged.' That's a tremendous word," Harbaugh added. "'Execution.' That's a top five word. 'Reckoning.' Those are real football words to me."
Make no mistake about it, Jim Harbaugh is thrilled to be back in the NFL.
But don't equate happiness for complacency.
When kickoff arrives Sunday against the Raiders, nobody inside SoFi Stadium will want to win more than Jim Harbaugh.
"Wherever I've been, I've just wanted to be there so bad," Harbaugh said. "I just want to be a part of the team.
"The two great loves I have are the love I have for my family at home and my family at work," Harbaugh added. "I just like that work. I want to be here. And I want the chance to compete."
