Jim Harbaugh might be back in the National Football League, but that doesn’t mean the former Michigan Wolverines head coach will adhere to standard practices. Nothing Harbaugh does would be considered “normal,” but what he did with college injury reports seemed standard practice until the Big Ten stepped in last season.
When Harbaugh first arrived in Ann Arbor, there would be depth charts, but it didn’t take long for him to learn the trade. It wasn’t soon long after that Harbaugh , who concealed injuries, was no longer readily handing out depth charts. If you go around the country, college coaches want to control information. There’s not really much they’ll readily offer to opponents. Unless there’s a long-term injury of significance, reporters would have to use binoculars pregame to determine who was dressed and who wasn’t.
In part, the rise of gambling in college sports prompted the Big Ten to implement a new rule in 2023 requiring teams to release an injury report at least two hours before kickoff. Harbaugh has since left college football for what he believes to be greener pastures in Los Angeles, so we shouldn’t expect him to change how he operated in college.
Unlike the college level, NFL teams are obligated to disclose injury reports publicly. Any attempt to conceal player injuries, for example, the undisclosed oblique injury of Amon-Ra St. Brown that surfaced on Netflix’s Receiver , can result in substantial fines or even more severe penalties.
However, the NFL doesn’t officially mandate injury reports until Sept. 3rd. So, until then, don’t expect Harbaugh to be forthcoming with injury information. Even if Justin Herbert is sidelined with an undisclosed ailment, details will be scarce. According to AP Sports’ Joe Reedy, those seeking specific injury updates from Harbaugh during training camp will likely be disappointed.
In essence, fans and media will have to wait until the week of the Chargers’ Week 1 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders for any concrete injury news.
Reedy noted that while he’s encountered coaches who were deliberately vague about injuries during training camp, Harbaugh’s approach is an entirely different level of opacity. It’s a complete shutdown of any injury-related information.
When Chargers offensive lineman Rashawn Slater didn’t practice Saturday, The Athletic’s Daniel Popper pressed Harbaugh about it. In turn, Harbaugh said he wasn’t going to “categorize it,” which seems to fit with the vagueness of his injury reporting.
But it doesn’t matter if it’s the starting left tackle or third-string free safety because Harbaugh just isn’t forthcoming with that information. A fan attempted to counter Reedy’s point by citing Harbaugh’s openness about former Michigan player Junior Colson’s injury. Reedy clarified that Colson’s absence was due to a non-football-related appendectomy, which explained his placement on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list.
At the same time, Reedy dismissed the suggestion that the NFL would be less forgiving than Michigan (or the NCAA) as it relates to injury reporting, maintaining that coaches can remain as vague or silent as they wish about injuries during training camp since the league doesn’t mandate injury reports until Week 1.
He added that he hasn’t encountered such a complete blackout on injury news in a long time.
As the regular season approaches, the NFL will undoubtedly test the limits of Harbaugh’s secrecy, but for now, the first-year Chargers head coach seems content to operate in a shroud of mystery.
[ Joe Reedy ]
The post Jim Harbaugh mum on injuries through training camp: ‘Total shutdown’ appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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