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Sunday’s Chargers-Chiefs game got chippy late, but Jim Harbaugh didn’t flinch afterward, backing Tony Jefferson and calling the hit that led to his ejection a normal “football play,” even as the moment sparked an on-field scuffle in a tense Week 15 win.
As Daniel Popper reported on X, Harbaugh was asked about Justin Herbert’s 12 interceptions this season and went straight to encouragement. “Keep attacking. Keep letting it rip,” Harbaugh said, before reaching for a Tiger Woods analogy: if you hit one in the water, you take another ball out of your pocket, put it down, and swing again. Harbaugh even did a golf swing while saying it, making the point clear without the coach having to spell it out further.
The message fits the way Harbaugh has handled his team all year, lean into aggression, accept the collateral damage, and keep the offense playing forward instead of trying to hide from mistakes. Herbert’s interception total is what it is, but Harbaugh’s view is that shrinking the playbook or playing scared only creates different problems.
That mindset also mirrors how he framed the Jefferson ejection. Harbaugh said he saw a legal hit, was told “New York” upheld the ejection, and he kept his instruction simple afterward: keep playing. In his eyes, the solution wasn’t panic but staying locked into the game and the identity they wanted to play with.
Harbaugh’s week also included an off-field note tied to his old program. He said he has exchanged texts with former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, describing the situation as “a tragedy” and saying his message was to hold it together and take care of his family, while also noting he’s staying out of Michigan’s head coaching search.
For the Chargers, though, the headline is the same across both conversations: Harbaugh is not coaching scared, and he’s not asking Herbert to do it either. The interceptions are on the stat sheet, but the plan is still to keep firing.
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