EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Colin Kaepernick has opened the door to a return to the NFL that would be a spectacular reunion with former coach Jim Harbaugh.
But here’s a surprising twist: The 36-year-old Kaepernick recently told Sky Sports that he still wants to play in the NFL, but the new Los Angeles Chargers coach insists he wants the former quarterback to return to the NFL as part of his coaching staff, not as a player.
“I think if he goes down that path, that’s great,” Harbaugh told USA Today Sports. “I think he’ll be a great coach if he chooses to go down that path.”
In an interview after a training camp practice last week, Harbaugh said he had discussed with Kaepernick joining the Chargers as a non-player immediately after his return to the NFL in January, but several months later, there has been no movement on that possibility.
“Yeah, we talked about it a little bit,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been considering it. He was out of the country. He said he’d contact me. I haven’t heard from him since. That was early in the year.”
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Kaepernick’s reasons for not reaching out to Harbaugh may have been revealed in his comments to a London-based TV station: He wants to resume his playing career even though it’s been seven years since he last played in the NFL and he was apparently suspended by the NFL in 2016 for kneeling on the sideline and sparking protests during the national anthem.
Kaepernick, who protested police brutality and the killings of unarmed black men, sued the NFL for alleged complicity and reached an undisclosed settlement, but has never wavered in his desire to resume his playing career.
“We’re still training, we’re still working hard,” Kaepernick told Sky Sports, “so hopefully, one of the team owners will be open-minded.”
Harbaugh has long been one of Kaepernick’s biggest supporters, even organizing an open workout during Michigan’s spring game when it appeared Kaepernick was about to be booted from the NFL.
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After all, their bond was built on a foundation of success. Kaepernick began his six-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers as a second-round draft pick out of Nevada shortly after Harbaugh became head coach in 2011. They advanced together to Super Bowl XLVII in the 2012 season, where the 49ers narrowly lost to the Baltimore Ravens. The historic matchup between Jim and his older brother John marked the first time that brothers have faced off against each other as Super Bowl coaches. The following season, the 49ers reached the NFC Finals.
“He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached,” Coach Harbaugh said. “I love Collin.”
Harbaugh has no qualms about bringing Kaepernick on as an assistant coach (or even a consultant) to a Chargers staff that already includes three former 49ers players who played under Harbaugh in San Francisco — NaVorro Bowman, Jonathan Goodwin and Will Tukuafu — but has not spoken about potentially giving his former quarterback a chance to return to the game. Asked by USA Today Sports this week whether Kaepernick would like to play again, Harbaugh, through a team spokesman, declined to comment.
Of course, that’s a suggestion Kapernick would like to hear.
“I mean, this is something I’ve been training for my whole life,” Kaepernick told Sky Sports when asked what it would mean to play again. “So just being able to get back on the field would be a big moment for me, a big achievement. I feel like I can bring a lot to the team and help us win a championship.”
If Kaepernick can prove his skills are still intact, the Chargers could certainly use him as an option behind franchise quarterback Justin Herbert.
Herbert is currently rehabbing from a torn plantar fascia in his right foot and is expected to be ready for the season opener against the Raiders on Sept. 8. The timing seems right to consider Kaepernick, given that the other three quarterbacks vying for the backup role in camp — Easton Stick, Max Duggan and Luis Perez — are unproven or unimpressive.
That is, if Harbaugh really wants to think outside the box and evaluate whether a former quarterback still has the skill set to contribute in a league with no shortage of mediocre backup quarterbacks.
No, Harbaugh’s lofty idea of bringing Kaepernick back to the NFL as a coach may not be enough.
Harbaugh suggested Kaepernick’s ignominious exit, which the NFL should be ashamed of, wouldn’t be an issue for him if the quarterback chooses to return as a coach. The Chargers coach is well aware that Kaepernick has a reputation as a civil rights activist and is widely respected in society.
“I consider him a hero,” Harbaugh said. “Heroes don’t get any days off, and he’s a hero now and he’s not getting any days off. What path he takes is not up to me to choose. It’s his decision.”
But if Kaepernick is determined to play one more time before deciding whether to accept his former coach’s offer to take the coaching job, Harbaugh also appears to have a tough decision to make.
