Teams
- Chicago Bears (1987-1993)
- Indianapolis Colts (1994-1997)
- Baltimore Ravens (1998)
- San Diego Chargers (1999-2000)
- Detroit Lions (2001)
- Carolina Panthers (2001)
Accolades
- 1x Pro Bowl (1995)
- NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1995)
- UPI AFC Offensive Player of the Year (1995)
“Leadership, Jim [Harbaugh] was off the charts as far as winning and competing… I’ve said this more than once, the two best competitors I’ve ever been around were Walter Payton and Jim Harbaugh.”
-Bill Tobin, former GM, Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts (source)
“Hail! to the victors valiant, Hail! to the conqu’ring heroes, Hail! Hail! to Michigan the leaders and best…” except for maybe their quarterbacks over the National Football League’s first 65 years. While unquestionably one of college football’s most storied programs, leading up the 1987 NFL Draft there had been 13 Wolverine quarterbacks selected since 1941 and not a single one had been named to a Pro Bowl. But Jim Harbaugh was different. A two-year starter at UM, he led them to a cumulative 21-3-1 record from 1985-1986 and finished third in Heisman voting his senior year. Although the Chicago Bears already had an effective (if oft-injured) quarterback in Jim McMahon, they used the 26th overall pick in the 1987 Draft to select the Michigan grad.
The Bears had used a valuable pick on Jim Harbaugh, but they weren’t necessarily in a hurry to utilize their new investment. As a rookie he made no starts and attempted only 11 passes, primarily playing third-string behind Jim McMahon and Mike Tomczak. It was more of the same in ’88, although Harbaugh did make two starts, going 1-1 in those contests. Then just before the 1989 season, the Bears stunningly traded McMahon, their Super Bowl winning QB from four years prior. Harbaugh’s apparent opportunity was mostly quashed as head coach Mike Ditka rolled with Tomczak for most of the (adversarial?) season. It didn’t end up being a pretty year for either signal caller. Tomczak went 5-6 with a 68.2 passer rating, while Harbaugh went 1-4 with a 70.5 rating as the Bears missed the postseason for the first time in six years.
Now in his fourth season, 1990 was finally the former Wolverine’s chance, and he didn’t waste it. That was, until a late-season shoulder injury kept him out of the playoffs. Harbaugh won 10 of his 14 starts, finishing in the Top 10 in the league in both completion percentage and passer rating. Without him, the Bears won a Wild Card match-up against the Saints before getting crushed by the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants. Harbaugh came back strong in ’91 though, going 11-5 as starter and throwing for 3,121 yards. Finally able to play in the postseason, Harbaugh nearly led a comeback against Dallas (an important sign of things to come), but Chicago fell 17-13. In the loss, the UM grad totaled 244 yards and a TD, but also threw two crucial picks.
The next two years wouldn’t go so well for Jim Harbaugh and Da Bears. The former Heisman finalist went a cumulative 12-16 in his starts, throwing 20 touchdowns but also 23 interceptions. He fumbled the ball an NFL-most 15 times in ’93 as well. Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Tobin had previously been the Bears’ GM, and was the man who selected Harbaugh in the ’87 Draft. He was still sold on the Wolverine great. So in the 1994 offseason Harbaugh signed with Indy, a team that had gone 4-12 the previous year. In one of the NFL Draft’s more infamous moments, Tobin got in a verbal tussle with ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. over not drafting a quarterback. Harbaugh didn’t exactly justify Bill Tobin’s commitment though, and was benched halfway into the season for former Packer Don Majkowski (save for one late-season contest). Still, the Colts improved to 8-8 after seeing some improvement on both sides of the ball.
It was in 1995 that Jim Harbaugh truly became “Captain Comeback”. Relieving Craig Erickson in Week 2, he led the Colts back from a 24-3 third quarter deficit against the Jets to prevail in OT. This earned Harbaugh the starting gig and boy did he roll with it. At the end of the regular season he had the NFL’s most fourth quarter comebacks (4) and game-winning drives (3). He was also the league’s top signal caller in yards per pass attempt (8.2), INT rate (1.6%), and QB rating (100.7). Bolstered by a Top 5 scoring defense, Indianapolis went 9-7 and snuck into the playoffs. Indy headed to San Diego in the Wild Card round to face the AFC’s defending champs, and left with an upset victory (35-20). Playing in only his second career postseason game, the Colts’ quarterback came through, totaling 185 yards of offense, three touchdowns, and a single INT.
The next test was the real challenge, facing the league’s best defense in the 13-3 Chiefs. But Harbaugh managed to lead the Colts to a 10-7 victory in which he ran for 48 yards and threw a second quarter TD pass, putting Indianapolis one win from the Super Bowl. At Pittsburgh the following week, “Captain Comeback” threw a fourth quarter 47-yard TD pass to put the Colts up 16-13. But trailing by four in the final moments, Harbaugh threw up a Hail Mary… and ALMOST provided an AFC Championship miracle. The Steelers held on, 20-16 (they would go on to lose to Dallas in Super Bowl XXX). Harbaugh played excellently in the AFC title game with 296 offensive yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers.
In 1996, the defending NFL Comeback Player of the Year would get the Colts back to the postseason, but he wasn’t quite the revelation he had been the year prior. Harbaugh would go 7-7 in his starts, scoring 14 TDs while tossing 11 INTs. In a playoff rematch with Pittsburgh, he would be held to just 12 completions on 32 attempts for 134 yards. While he would toss a touchdown, he’d also turn the ball over twice as the Steelers rocked the Colts 42-14. The following year would signal the end of the Jim Harbaugh era, as well as that of head coach Lindy Infante, in Indianapolis. After an 0-10 start, the Colts would finish a miserable 3-13. Captain Comeback won just two of 11 starts, although he would sport the NFL’s best INT rate (1.3%) for the second time in his career. With the first overall pick in the 1998 Draft, the Colts would select Peyton Manning as their quarterback of the immediate future.
Jim Harbaugh would spend the 1998 season with the Baltimore Ravens, going 5-7 in 12 starts. His final action would be with San Diego in 1999 and 2000, going 6-6 in ’99 but then 0-5 in 2000. He would split time in 2001 with Detroit and Carolina, but never see regular season action. Although his final seasons were less than successful in the win column, he did have a few a great moments. His three best career games in terms of passing yards came in San Diego with 404-yard and 325-yard performances in 1999, and a 348-yard effort in 2000. And he notably beat his former team in ’98, the Indianapolis Colts featuring Peyton Manning, a 38-31 victory that included overcoming a ten-point fourth quarter deficit. Jim Harbaugh may have been well past his prime, but Captain Comeback still had one more trick up his sleeve.
If you’re looking for big numbers, Jim Harbaugh was not your guy. What he provided was stability at the quarterback position, first in Chicago, then right down I-65 in Indiana’s state capitol. He also had ice water veins, coming up with stunning wins and some pretty exciting near-misses (see: 1995 AFC Championship Game). And when he retired in 2000 he was by far the greatest quarterback ever to come out of the University of Michigan; the same year Michigan alum Tom Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots. Harbaugh has had ongoing success as a head coach post-playing days. He coached the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, a 35-31 loss to Baltimore (coached by his brother John), and has led alma mater Michigan to multiple AP Top 10 poll finishes. Hail! Hail!
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | -0.023 | -0.122 | -0.242 | 0.215 | -0.036 | 0.035 | -0.171 | 0.138 |
| Playoffs | -0.080 | -0.153 | -0.038 | 0.048 | -0.130 | -0.092 | -0.009 | 0.148 |
Longevity Bonus = 1.0 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = -0.315 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 153)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 111th | 133rd | 143rd | 44th | 130th | 51st | 138th | 47th |
| Playoffs | T-99th | 112th | 72nd | 64th | 136th | 123rd | 76th | 49th |
Why isn’t he on the Top 100 list?
Over the eight categories analyzed, for the regular season, Jim Harbaugh falls outside the Top 100 in five of them. His lowest placement is a Bottom 20 showing in total touchdowns per game, understandable as he never threw for more than 17 TDs in a season. His yards per game are also limited. While helped by an ability to run the ball, he only had seven 300 yard games times in 140 career starts, only surpassing 350 yards in a game once. Also, his postseason numbers are serviceable, but he’s only a Top 50 guy in terms of INT rate (#49).
But what made him good?
Jim Harbaugh may not have put up big numbers, but he didn’t make big mistakes either. He’s a Top 50 guy in the regular season, all-time, in fewest turnovers per game (#44) and INT rate (#47). He’s bolstered in that regard by two seasons in which he led the NFL in fewest interceptions per attempt. Harbaugh was also accurate, his career completion percentage deviation is ranked #51 all-time. Lastly, he was his respective teams’ primary starting quarterback every season from 1990-1999, earning him a 1.0-point longevity bonus.
The Quarterback Project 