Through hard work, dedication, and commitment to pursuing his passion and making a career out of it, Jim Harbaugh rose from the position of football quarterback to head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, San Diego Toreros, and The Stanford Cardinal of the NFL. He has proven just how good he was and still is with several awards, including AFC Player of the Year, NFL Champion, Pro Bowl, and NFL Coach of the Year.
Learn more about one of the most popular coaches in college football and the highest-paid coach at this level of the game.
Biography of Jim Harbaugh
Two days before Christmas, on December 23, 1963, Jim Harbaugh was born in Toledo, Ohio, the United States of America, the son of Jack Harbaugh (father) and Jacqueline M. “Jackie” (née Cipiti). His father is half Irish and German, while his mother is half Sicilian and half Polish. His father played football at a young age and when Jim and his brother John were born he was an assistant coach at Perrysburg High School in Perrysburg.
Since his father was an assistant coach, the family had to move around a lot as often as he found work. This meant that Harbaugh had to play on different teams depending on where they lived at any given time. Jim played for the Ann Arbor Packers and later for Tappan Junior High in the junior league before he moved up to Pioneer High School. He transferred to Palo Alto High School, where he graduated in 1982.
His career as a college player was registered with the Michigan Wolverines football team, where he enjoyed a reputation as a skillful Californian passer-by. He was given plenty of playing time at the Spring Games in April 1983 after being marginalized for a long time in 1982. To the great delight of coach Bo Schembechler, he completed 10 of 15 passes over 116 yards.
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He has reached many milestones in his college career. He was Michigan’s record holder of all time for the most passes – 5,499 yards. With a total of 620 passing attempts, 31 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions, he finished second in passing attempts. He graduated in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in communication science from the College of Literature, Science, and Arts in Michigan.
Jim Harbaugh began playing for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL) in 1987. Just like in college, his professional career began slowly as he could not find regular playing time on his team until the 1989 season when he got more playing time.
His presence on the field was felt uninterruptedly well into the 1990s, although the Bears performed poorly in the early 1990s. He joined the Indianapolis Colts in 1994 and played with them until 1997.
Here his career flourished considerably with better passing shots, few clean interceptions, and many touchdowns. From the Indianapolis Colts, he moved to the Baltimore Ravens in 1998 and later to the San Diego Chargers in 1990. Before the 2001 season, he stayed with the Detroit Lions but was transferred the night before the season started. He finally ended his career with the Carolina Panthers in 2001 without playing any of the six games he had dressed up for.
The end of his football career began with his coaching career as a quarterback coach with the Oakland Raiders in 2002. In preparation for this new phase of his career, he had been certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an unpaid assistant coach under his father Jack Harbaugh at Western Kentucky University (WKU) for the last eight years (1994-2001) prior to his retirement in the NFL (1994-2001).
Jim Harbaugh coached the University of San Diego, Stanford University from 2004 to the 2006 season (2007-2010), followed by the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2014) and currently the University of Michigan from 2015 to the present.
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Jim Harbaugh’s Salary
According to USA Today, Jim’s salary according to their 2017 NCAAF Coach payroll for 2017 based on their respective current contracts is $7,004,000 per annum for Jim Harbaugh.
Family – Wife, Children, Brothers
Jim is currently married for the second time. Previously he was married to Sarah Harbaugh, who bore him three children: Jay and James and a daughter Grace. Jim and Miah were divorced in 2006.
He married Sarah Feuerborn Harbaugh in 2008 and they now have four children together. Two daughters: Addison Katharine and also two sons – Jack and the youngest, John was born on 11 January 2017.
His only known brother is his older brother John Harbaugh, who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. They have set a record as the first pair of brothers in NFL history to coach.
