The bizarre case of Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh’s coaching offer to his former quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, has taken an even more bizarre turn.
Before the start of the season, Harbaugh stunned fans when he casually mentioned to USA Today Sports that he offered the league’s original anthem protester a coaching job.
The reaction to this, as you may recall, was shock and mazement. Given the reaction to the news, Harbaugh came out days later and told reporterss that Kaepernick would not be on the team as a coach or player.
“I love Colin, but he’s not going to be on the coaching staff, which is set for this year,” Harbaugh said. “And he’s not going to be playing on the roster either.”
However, during a guest appearance this week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Kaepernick corrected his former coach and said the offer to coach never happened.
It is not true,” Kaepernick told Fallon. “I found out the same way everyone else did — on social media. I was like, ‘Oh, I got a coaching offer.’ No, no coaching offer.”
Fallon asked whether Kaepernick would consider coaching at a later time, but the former 49er instead repeated the narrative that he wants to play.
“No interest in coaching,” Kaepernick said. “I need the adrenaline rush of playing and being in it, or I think I can have more impact in other places with my time.”
Again, the entirely situation is truly bizarre.
Let’s go back to Harbaugh’s initial comments about offering Kaepernick the job.
Here’s what he told USA Today Sports.
“Yeah, we talked a little bit about it,” Harbaugh said.“He’s considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then. That was early, early in the year.”
Harbaugh not only says he talked to Kaepernick directly, he says it was during a time when he was out of the country. He says it was early in the year and that Kaepernick was considering it.
That is all very specific information. Which suggests that Kaepernick is not telling the truth when he says this offer wasn’t made.