Jim Harbaugh says Colin Kaepernick isn't joining Chargers this season

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh sets record straight on Colin Kaepernick rumors

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, left, walks with coach Jim Harbaugh before Super Bowl XLVII

Published Aug. 13, 2024 Updated Aug. 15, 2024 7:35 PM PT

Colin Kaepernick isn’t joining the Chargers as a coach or a player this season.

Coach Jim Harbaugh ended all speculation regarding his former quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers while speaking with reporters Thursday afternoon.

“I love Colin,” said Harbaugh, who coached the 49ers from 2011-14. “But he’s not going to be on my coaching staff this year, and he’s not going to be on the roster either.”

A report this week indicated that Harbaugh wanted Kaepernick on his coaching staff and that the two of them discussed the possibility back in January.

“Yeah, we talked a little bit about it,” Harbaugh told USA Today. “He’s considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then.”

Chargers linebackers coach NaVorro Bowman and assistant defensive line coach Will Tukuafu played for the 49ers under Harbaugh. Both are first-year coaches. Retired tight end Delanie Walker, another former 49er from the Harbaugh years, also has joined the Chargers staff for training camp.

Harbaugh said Thursday that his decision to offer Kaepernick a coaching position stems from an opportunity late Raiders owner Al Davis gave him as quarterbacks coach in 2002.

“Al Davis saw something in me that made him think I would be a great coach,” Harbaugh said. “I see those qualities in Colin.”

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, however, Kaepernick said he’s still looking for another shot as a player — even though it’s been seven full seasons since he’s taken a snap.

“We’re still training, still pushing,” Kaepernick said. “So hopefully we just gotta get one of these team owners to open up.

“I could bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship.”

Kaepernick took the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season and back to the NFC championship game the next year. He famously refused to stand for the national anthem before games during the 2016 season, then opted out of his contract with the 49ers the following offseason. He never landed on another team.

In October 2017, Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL. He and the league reached an agreement to resolve the grievance in February 2019.

Kaepernick repeatedly has expressed an interest in a comeback. Last season he sent a letter to the New York Jets offering to join the practice squad as a “risk-free contingency plan” behind starter Zach Wilson after a season-ending Achilles tendon injury to Aaron Rodgers.

The Jets didn’t take him up on his offer, leaving Kaepernick still looking for his next NFL opportunity.

“It’s something I’ve trained my whole life for,” Kaepernick, 36, told Sky Sports, “so to be able to step back on the field, I think that would be a major moment, major accomplishment for me.”

During the same interview, Kaepernick was asked if he would be representing the U.S. in flag football when the sport makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“Hopefully we’ll be out there,” Kaepernick said. “We’re gonna work on some things, see if we can make it in there. But we’d love to be out there.”