Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh has had a distinguished coaching career both in the collegiate ranks as well as the professional ranks.
In the eyes of Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd, Harbaugh is the greatest football coach of all time.
It is a bold (some might argue insane) take, but it is his latest hot take on his Fox Sports 1 program:
"If you count college and pro, I would make an argument today, the greatest coach in the history of football is not Bill Belichick or Bill Walsh or Vince Lombardi. It's Jim Harbaugh. The greatest coach ever." - Colin Cowherd pic.twitter.com/afsPLGqyRT
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 17, 2025
Cowherd's argument is that Harbaugh has succeeded as a head coach everywhere he has gone, both in college and the NFL. He brought success to the University of San Diego and Stanford, winning the Fiesta Bowl for the Cardinal, before going to the NFL and leading the Niners to three straight NFC Championship games with a Super Bowl appearance as well.
After a falling out with San Francisco's front office and ownership, Harbaugh returned to the college ranks and made the University of Michigan into a powerhouse that eventually won the College Football Playoff in his final year with the Wolverines.
Then, he returned to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers and led L.A. to the playoffs in his first season there before leading them to a 2-0 start this season.
In short, the guy has won everywhere and has had a lot of success, not without controversy.
Cowherd's argument is the fact Harbaugh has had success both in college and the NFL, as opposed to great college coaches like Nick Saban who struggled in the NFL, as well as the fact that his success is not tied to a player in the way that Bill Belichick's is tied to quarterback Tom Brady or Bill Walsh's is tied to quarterback Joe Montana makes him stand out from other coaches.
It is an interesting argument, but it is still extreme. It ignores the great work that coaches like Belichick and Walsh had as coordinators prior to their success as head coaches. Harbaugh has also benefited from inheriting good rosters or good players, like quarterback Andrew Luck at Stanford or a solid core with the 2011 Niners. The Bolts' current coach deserves credit for getting the most out of what he has had to work with, but it is not as if he built everything from scratch.
The most glaring hole in Cowherd's argument is that Harbaugh has never won a Super Bowl as a head coach. 49ers fans do not need to be reminded that he came agonizingly close against his brother back in 2013, but he still does not have that Lombardi Trophy.
Maybe if Harbaugh can win some hardware with the Chargers, then a discussion can be had about where he ranks among the best coaches in the game. But for now, it is premature even if his career winning percentage is among the best in NFL history.
Or, if he can turn Trey Lance into an NFL-caliber starting quarterback, then perhaps he is the greatest coach ever.