Jim Harbaugh can thank Al Davis and Raiders for starting him on his Chargers path

"The veteran guys on the team were saying, 'Jimmy, you don't have to do this, bro. There's other ways you can make money. You don't have to be in here.' Because he was literally the guy printing the papers, working the copiers. We were like, 'All right, if that's what you want to do with your life then OK.'"

"He came in and acted like an intern, like a quality-control coach. He did what anyone asked of him and did it with a sense of purpose and a selfless, humble attitude. I don't know a lot of NFL quarterbacks that have had the"

Jim Harbaugh arrived at an early coaching job with the Oakland Raiders exhausted, often collapsing in his driveway and waking in a fog to fulfill round-the-clock responsibilities. He transitioned from a first-round NFL pick and 15-year player into a low-level quarterbacks coach who handled menial tasks like printing papers and operating copiers. Teammates described him as selfless, humble, and willing to act like an intern or quality-control coach, arriving before dawn. He later rebuilt programs at the University of San Diego, Stanford, the 49ers and Michigan. He now leads the 1-0 Los Angeles Chargers and faces his former team, the Raiders, on Monday night.

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