Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has revealed Colin Kaepernick’s potential stunning return to the NFL will have to wait.
Harbaugh, who coached the former 49ers star from 2011 through 2014, revealed earlier this week that he had offered his former player a path back to the league.
The former quarterback is currently weighing up an offer to join Harbaugh’s Chargers – but as a coach, not a player.
However, even if he accepts the proposal, the 36-year-old won’t be in Los Angeles until at least next year.
‘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 Thursday, via ESPN.
Jim Harbaugh revealed Colin Kaepernick will not be on his Chargers staff this season
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL for eight years, since he took a knee during the national anthem and ignited nationwide controversy.
But Harbaugh revealed to USA Today Wednesday that he had reached out to the former signal caller about a return to the league on his Chargers staff shortly after being named head coach on January 24 following his national championship win with Michigan.
Harbaugh said he had also tried to talk Kaepernick into coaching collegiate football, touching base while with the Wolverines.
‘I have thought that for a long time. Just the respect that I have for the football mind he has and the football man that he is,’ said Harbaugh when asked what made him believe Kaepernick would make a good coach.
‘[Late Raiders owner] Al Davis saw something in me that made him think I would be a good coach, and I see those same qualities in Colin. If it is something he chooses.’
Despite having not graced the field since January 1 2017, Kaepernick has remained determined to rejoin the league, with the quarterback telling Sky Sports: ‘We’re still training, still pushing… we’ve just got to get one of these team owners to open up.’
However, some have claimed Kaepernick’s dream to play in the league again is unrealistic with one NFL insider telling DailyMail.com that the quarterback is ‘delusional’.
The quarterback has not played in the NFL since 2017, after taking the knee during the anthem
Kaepernick joined the 49ers shortly after the team appointed Harbaugh as head coach
Kaepernick joined the 49ers shortly after the team appointed Harbaugh as head coach. Together they took San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII and the NFC championship game the following season.
Harbaugh has supported Kaepernick during his apparent exile from the NFL, even arranging an open workout for the quarterback in 2022.
In 2019, Kaepernick settled a grievance with the NFL for an undisclosed amount after accusing owners of blackballing him in retaliation for the controversial protests.
Although Kaepernick remains an NFL outcast, commissioner Roger Goodell admitted in June 2021 that the league should have listened to players’ concerns about racism sooner, adding that he encouraged teams to sign the former 49ers star.
