Jim Harbaugh didn’t just praise Justin Herbert this week - he went all the way to the edge of the cliff.
On Michael Irvin’s podcast, The White House, the Chargers coach made a staggering prediction about his quarterback, saying Herbert will finish his career as the greatest quarterback ever.
“Allow me to call my shot. Like Babe Ruth pointing over the, the bat over the center field,” Harbaugh told Irvin.
“Justin Herbert, when it’s all said and done, when his career comes to an end, I predict he will be known as the greatest, best ever to play the position of quarterback. Greatest quarterback. When it’s all said and done and his career is finished, we’re going to look back and say, yep, That’s the best that ever did it.”
Harbaugh doubled down on the claim in a separate clip shared by Netflix Sports, saying, “I predict [Justin Herbert] will be known as the best ever to play the position of quarterback.”
The reaction was instant, and plenty of fans on social media had no interest in entertaining the idea. One user on X wrote, “He’s clearly on crack if he thinks Justin Herbert will be the best ever.”
Another fired back with even more heat: “Talk about delusional. One would think Harbaraugh would understand history & performance & have an ounce.of goddamn respect for the careers of QBs who have ACTUALLY won playoff games & Super Bowls.
He’s 0-3 in the playoffs. He threw FOUR INTs vs the Texans!”
A third fan added, “Doing this is not cute. It puts insanely stupid pressure and narratives out there about your qb for no reason,”
Irvin had warned Harbaugh that the take would bring backlash, then asked how much new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel could help Herbert unlock his ceiling.
“He saw the same thing in Justin Herbert,” Harbaugh said. “And, uh, the way those two, they’re football smart and book smart too.
I mean, you got a Yale grad and a 4.0. You might say, ‘How smart are they, coach?’
Well, how smart are they? They’re so smart, Michael, that I wish I knew how smart they were.”
Harbaugh’s comments arrive in a season that already has plenty of intrigue around the Chargers, who paired two of the league’s most unusual personalities by bringing McDaniel aboard this offseason. Even with the eccentricity, both men have earned strong reputations as sharp football minds.
That’s part of why Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd went so far as to argue Harbaugh has a case as the greatest football coach of all time.
“If you count college and pro, I would make an argument today, the greatest coach in the history of football is not Bill Belichick or Bill Walsh or Vince Lombardi. It’s Jim Harbaugh.
The greatest coach ever,” Cowherd said. “Think about this, he’s never failed.
He’s five for five. At San Diego, Stanford, San Francisco 49ers, Michigan and the Chargers, he’s never failed.”
The Chargers open the season Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
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