Harbaugh says Kaepernick won’t be a Chargers player or coach this season

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — If Colin Kaepernick wants to hitch the Los Angeles Chargers, it won’t be until next yr on the earliest.

And that may only be possible as a member of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff.

“I love Colin, but he won’t be on the coaching staff, which is what’s planned for this year. And he won’t be playing in the lineup,” Harbaugh said after practice Thursday.

Harbaugh, who was Kaepernick’s coach in San Francisco from 2011 to 2014, told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week that he contacted Kaepernick about joining the Chargers coaching staff shortly after he was named coach on Jan. 24.

Harbaugh said Thursday that it wasn’t the primary time he had spoken to Kaepernick in regards to the coaching role and that he had mentioned it several times when he was the coach at Michigan.

“I’ve thought that for a long time. Just the respect I have for his football mind and the football person he is,” Harbaugh said when asked what made him think Kaepernick would be a good coach. “(Late Raiders owner) Al Davis saw something in me that made him think I’d be a good coach, and I see the same thing in Colin. If that’s something he chooses.”

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Kaepernick, who turns 37 on Nov. 3, has not played in an NFL game since Jan. 1, 2017, when he began kneeling on the sideline in the course of the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality.

Kaepernick — who played six seasons in San Francisco after being drafted within the second round in 2011 — still hopes to play again. He told the British broadcaster Sky Sports News on the recent Paris Olympics that he was still training.

“It’s something I’ve trained for my whole life, so to be able to get back on the field, I think it would be a great moment for me, a great accomplishment,” Kaepernick said. “I think I could contribute a lot to this team and help them win a championship.”

Kaepernick had a 29-16 record as a starter, including the playoffs, when Harbaugh was his coach. After Harbaugh left for Michigan, Kaepernick’s record was 3-17.

Kaepernick was the starting quarterback in Super Bowl 47 against Baltimore. He was 16-of-28 for 302 yards with a touchdown and in addition scored in San Francisco’s 34-31 loss.

Harbaugh has three players on his Chargers staff that he coached in San Francisco — NaVorro Bowman, Jonathan Goodwin and Will Tukuafu. Mike Iupati and Delanie Walker were assistant coaches during training camp, and Dashon Goldson is a coaching intern this season.

Greg Roman, who was Kaepernick’s offensive coordinator in San Francisco from 2011 to 2014, also directs the Chargers’ offense.