James Harbaugh Jr.

Jim Harbaugh is enjoying a lot of love in Southern California, leading the Los Angeles Chargers to an undefeated start. But nobody is cheering louder for the revered head coach than his gay son.

James Harbaugh Jr. splashed onto our gridiron radar early this year when he provided us with one big reason to root for Michigan in the College Football National Championship. The youngest Harbaugh is very close to his dad, who won his first college football title.

James celebrated the Wolverines’ big win on the field, bathing himself in blue and yellow confetti.

When the Chargers hired Harbaugh last January, James celebrated the occasion by bringing back one of the best tweets in NFL history.

Unsurprisingly, his social media game remains strong amidst the Chargers’ 2-0 start. He posted multiple IG stories celebrating their blowout win Sunday over the Carolina Panthers, flashing deuces to the haters.

Marred by years of underachievement, the Chargers are playing like a transformed team. They defeated the rival Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, with a smash mouth style of football that’s long alluded them.

The Chargers continued their tough play Sunday, holding the woeful Panthers to just 3 points.

It’s apparent that Harbaugh has already made a strong impression on his new players. His bromance with star QB Justin Herbert has been especially amusing to watch.

“There’s not one gene in his body I wouldn’t like immediately trade,” Harbaugh said last Friday. (Herbert, who has a cannon arm, stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 236 pounds. He’s a handsome beast!)

Related: Jim Harbaugh has a serious bro crush on Justin Herbert and we can’t blame him.

Harbaugh’s already gone viral for showing his man love to Herbert… banging on the Pro Bowler’s chest and shoulder pads to pump him up.

With a career record of 49-22-1 as an NFL coach, Harbaugh arrived in SoCal with a track record of success at the pro level. But even more importantly, he’s established a strong relationship with James.

James came out to his dad when he was a college student, following the 2016 election. “I just it blurted out –– and told him for the first time verbatim –– ‘Dad, I’m gay. Do you know that? And because of that, this is why X,Y, Z. I’m scared because of this, that and the other,’” James told me in an interview.

When dad responded, he was all love.

“He just said something else back, it was an encouraging and uplifting response about how you just need to keep your head up. ‘As long as you do what you feel is right in your mind, you live your truth. Everything will end up being OK,'” he said.

In addition to football, dad and son share a love for musical theatre. We love a coach who’s multi-faceted!

“I can kind of credit my dad for getting me into theater a little bit, oddly enough,” James said. “In 2005, when he was at Stanford, he took the family—my sister, stepmom and I—we went and saw Wicked in San Francisco. I was blown away by it. I was probably 12 at the time. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is so incredible. I would love to be a part of something that makes people feel this way, something that feels so magical and amazing.’”

Over the years, James has made himself a regular at the field, including

football family ©️ pic.twitter.com/yUTY1VmB28

— James Harbaugh Jr. (@JamesHarbaughJr) September 4, 2023 “>Michigan’s famous “Big House.”

Known for his intensity, it’s refreshing to see Jim show off his warmer side. His version of masculinity appears to be of the empathetic variety, similar to Tim Walz, a former coach himself…

For the Harbaugh’s, football is a family affair!

Aside from Jim’s presence, the Chargers won our hearts before the season started, with their perfect roasting of Harrison Butker. The team dropped a Sims-style video to announce their schedule, and put the antigay/misogynistic kicker in his place…

The kitchen!

Harbaugh, through his love of James, stands in stark contrast to the regressive ideals that Butker represents. We’re glad the Chargers are responding in kind!

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