Jim Harbaugh, the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, expressed his opinion about a recent offseason trade to the Chicago Bears without holding back. In an attempt to realize his long-held goal of winning a Super Bowl, the former Bears coach left his position as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines to take over the Chargers.
This offseason, Harbaugh took over a chaotic cap space situation. He kept pass rushers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa because of the cap restructure. To save more cap room, the Chargers traded Keenan Allen to the Bears and had to cut wide receiver Mike Edwards in order to stay under the salary cap.
At the annual league meeting on Monday, Harbaugh was questioned about losing Allen to the Bears during the coach’s breakfast. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports that Harbaugh criticized Allen for his pay in order to justify the defeat and chastised Bears general manager Ryan Poles for agreeing to the trade for an expensive and frequently injured receiver:
Harbaugh questioned, “Keenan, $23 million a year, playing in Chicago, who’s got it better?”
According to Adam Hoge of CHGO Sports, Poles viewed the move from a different angle. He said that the new rookie quarterback the Bears have acquired is a very talented player:
“I felt like it was the ideal fit. In terms of timing, space, and defense reading, I don’t believe there is a receiver in the league that can help a young quarterback more than anyone else.
Harbaugh’s remark explains why he and Poles may not have had a good working relationship. If the Bears decided to remove head coach Matt Eberflus following two disastrous seasons, NFL analysts regarded Harbaugh as their top choice to take over as head coach.
Because Harbaugh was Michigan’s head coach, Poles stated at the Bears’ post-season press conference in January that he had not given the idea to get in touch with him. The 2024 season will reveal who came out on top in the Allen trade.
