Jim Harbaugh Offered Colin Kaepernick A Coaching Gig With The LA Chargers

Colin Kaepernick, the good trouble civil rights activist is being offered a coaching gig with his former mentor Jim Harbaugh at the Los Angeles Chargers. While it could be a way to get Kap back on the field, the social justice warrior hasn’t wavered from his wishes to play the game.

This compromise was met with an, “I’ll get back to you.” According to Harbaugh, “Yeah, we talked a little bit about it.” Though not definitive, he added, “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.”

How did we get here?

It all started with Kaepernick sitting during the National Anthem on Aug. 26, 2016.

“It is to protest the injustices that are happening in America, the oppression that is happening in America,” Kaepernick said to the press after the game.

After famously speaking with U.S. Army veteran Nate Boyer, he took a knee on September 1 of the same year together with his 49ers teammate Eric Reid. Those images became iconic.

In 2017, Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos filed a collusion grievance against league owners under the collective bargaining agreement. That case was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Since that time, the free agent has been trying to get back on the field as a player, though it’s been widely said that he’s been blackballed. Protests among celebrities was short-lived once Sean “Jay-Z” Carter was hired as NFL’s live music entertainment strategist in 2019. That same year, Jay-Z was also tapped to a new initiative to amplify social justice.

Geragos called the deal which did not include Kaepernick, “cold-blooded.”

“I think we’ve passed kneeling,” Jay-Z said when by a reporter asked if the rapper would kneel or stand if he were playing. “Yeah, I think it’s time to go into actionable items.”

Kaepernick since leaving the field hasn’t stopped training.Jim Harbaugh Offered Colin Kaepernick A Coaching Gig With The LA Chargers

“If that was ever the path he was to take, I think that would be tremendous,” Harbaugh told USA TODAY Sports. “He’d be a tremendous coach, if that’s the path he chose.”

Since taking a break from the field he celebrated the birth of his first child together with HOT97FM DJ Nessa Diab in 2022. In addition, he created Kaepernick Publishing—his own book imprint. Then, the Netflix miniseries with Ava DuVernay, Colin in Black & White became a hit. Harbaugh was referenced in the project.

“We’re still training, still pushing,” Kaepernick told Sky Sports in a recent interview. “So, hopefully. We’ve just got to get one of these team owners to open up.”

Harbaugh has never made any qualms about his appreciation for Kaepernick. “He’s one of my favorite players that I’ve ever coached,” adding, “love Colin.”

One thing that’s unclear is how the NFL would respond to a Kaepernick resurrection in coach form. His potential to influence as a coach would manifest differently than in player mode—challenging his alleged “blackballing” streak. This is of course, if he ever gets back to Harbaugh.

“I mean, it’s something I’ve trained my whole life for,” Kaepernick told Sky Sports when asked what it would mean to play again. “So, to be able to step back on the field would be a major moment, a major accomplishment for me. I think it’s something that I could bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship.” Kaepernick is busy according to Harhaugh. “I see him as a hero,” Harbaugh said. “Heroes get no days off. It’s not for me to choose what path he takes. That’s his decision