If Colin Kaepernick wants to join the Los Angeles Chargers, it won’t happen until next year at the earliest.
And if he does join, it will only be as part of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff.
“I love Colin, but he’s not going to be on the coaching staff, which is set for this year. And he’s not going to be playing on the roster either,” Harbaugh said after Thursday’s practice.
Harbaugh, who coached Kaepernick in San Francisco from 2011 to 2014, told USA Today Sports earlier this week that he contacted Kaepernick about joining his Chargers’ staff soon after being named coach on January 24.
Harbaugh mentioned that this wasn’t the first time he reached out to Kaepernick about coaching. He had brought it up a few times when he was the coach at Michigan.
“I’ve thought about this for a long time because of the respect I have for his football mind and the kind of football person he is,” Harbaugh said when asked why he thinks Kaepernick would make a good coach.
“(Late Raiders owner) Al Davis saw something in me that made him think I’d be a good coach, and I see those same qualities in Colin, if he chooses to pursue it.”
Kaepernick, who will turn 37 on November 3, hasn’t played in an NFL game since January 1, 2017. He began kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality.
Kaepernick, who played six seasons with San Francisco after being a second-round pick in 2011, still hopes to play again. He told Britain’s “Sky Sports News” during the recent Paris Olympics that he is still training.
“It’s something I’ve trained my whole life for, so to be able to step back on the field would be a major moment and accomplishment for me,” Kaepernick said. “I think I could bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship.”
