Jim Harbaugh Earns $1M Contract Bonus After Chargers Clinch NFL Playoff Bracket Spot

Head coach Jim Harbaugh secured a $1 million playoff bonus on Saturday after the Los Angeles Chargers clinched a wild-card spot with a 40-7 victory over the New England Patriots, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter:

It will be their first playoff appearance since 2022, when they lost 31-30 in the wild-card round to the Jacksonville Jaguars, after missing the postseason last year.

Harbaugh's bonus is well deserved, as he is the first coach in the Super Bowl era to take over two teams with losing records from the previous year and lead them to the playoffs in his first season, per the Associated Press' Josh Dubow. His other team was the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, who lost in the conference championship to the New Orleans Saints.

The former Wolverines coach has also made the playoffs four times in five seasons as an NFL coach, joining five other coaches who have reached the playoffs at least 80 percent of the time, including John Madden, per Dubow:

In Harbaugh's first season with the Chargers and his first back in the NFL since 2014, when he was head coach of the 49ers, he has guided the team to a 10-6 record with one game remaining.

Before spending four years in San Francisco, Harbaugh revitalized the Stanford Cardinal, improving their record from 4-8 in his first season to 12-1 in his final year. He also led them to a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Harbaugh and the Chargers are focused on securing the franchise's first playoff win since 2018. Before that, they will close out their season against the Las Vegas Raiders.