Jim Harbaugh left the Chargers’ Week 6 matchup with the Broncos when he had a flare-up with his atrial flutter. Jesse Minter was the interim head coach for that short time.
The offseason isn’t just for players to have necessary procedures and surgeries to get right following a long, physically-taxing football season. Coaches apparently need the time to do the same.
On Wednesday during Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz’s end-of-season press conference, the Chargers’ first-year head coach told reporters that he will undergo two procedures this offseason: A cardiac ablation and a hip replacement.
Harbaugh left the team’s Week Six matchup with the Broncos for a short time when he had a flare-up with his atrial flutter, a type of arrhythmia that causes the heart to beat at an abnormally high rate. Following that incident, Harbaugh had to wear a heart monitor for the following two weeks.
As for his hip replacement, those who have stayed close to the team over the season have surely noticed that Harbaugh walks with a limp. The replacement is expected to correct that.
Earlier in the season, when asked about how his medical issues could potentially effect his tenure with the Chargers, Harbaugh told reporters that “It would take my heart stopping for me not to be out there on the sideline.”
Here’s to hoping it does not come to anything close to that, but that’s a pretty clear picture of just how dedicated Harbaugh is to the future and success of this franchise.