Just imagine, the moment you admire and wish you could play under a certain head coach, you suddenly get a draft offer from that very coach’s team. How would that feel? Emotionally surprising? Well, a similar type of coincidence happened with the new backup quarterback of the Los Angeles Chargers, Taylor Heinicke, who revealed a hilarious story of the time when he received a call.

Chargers’ reporter Kris Rhim on his official X account wrote, “Taylor Heinicke said he was watching the Michigan sign stealing documentary when he got the call from Falcons HC Raheem Morris that the Chargers were trading for him.” The tweet also mentioned Heinicke’s exact statement, which was, “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s funny. I was just watching Jim Harbaugh.’”

QB Taylor Heinicke was actually watching Netflix’s “90-minute documentary on Connor Stalions and the University of Michigan’s sign-stealing controversy last season.” And as he was watching Jim Harbaugh in the documentary, at that time, Raheem Morris called him and said that he had been traded to the Chargers. This incident came after Heinicke made a visit to Harbaugh just 24 hours earlier. Now, as he met with the Charger’s new HC, it was obvious that many wanted to know how he felt about meeting the star coach. Hence, while speaking to the media, Heinicke said, “Meeting Jim, I think he exceeds every expectation. Really fun to be around, so excited to work for him.”

The Chargers are Heinicke’s fifth team in seven seasons. Before that, he was with Washington and Atlanta. But talking about his best season, it was with the Commanders in 2021, “when he started 15 games and passed for 3,419 yards and 20 touchdowns.” That game, via Heinicke, projected him “into a better career. I had that whole season and then nine games the following season. So, that kind of started it all.”

And now he has been finally selected for the backup role behind Justin Herbert. This also tells us he must have impressed Harbaugh, who recently expressed his expectations from Heinicke.

What did Jim Harbaugh say about Taylor Heinicke?

The Chargers have a new veteran on their roster: Taylor Heinicke. He’s stepping in as a reliable backup if Justin Herbert gets hurt. For instance, Herbert earlier had his share of injuries, where he missed two weeks of training camp with a foot issue and sat out the last four games last season with a finger injury. In addition to that, he also struggled with rib and shoulder problems this offseason. Hence, by bringing in Heinicke at the right time when the season is about to start, the Chargers have likely solved their quarterback problems. Therefore, after the Chargers announced welcoming Taylor Heinicke as their backup QB, it was obvious for the media to know “competitive” coach Jim Harbaugh’s take on him.

Hence, while speaking to the media, the former Michigan coach said, “I like him and his body of work. When he quarterbacks a team, they are competitive. He throws with good accuracy and plays his game.” But he’s clear that Heinicke’s role is different from Herbert’s, as each quarterback brings something unique to the field. And guess what? Heinicke knows this well, as he admitted recently, “Justin has the arm talent that Easton [Stick] and I don’t have and that’s just the truth of the matter. So, if we were to go out there and try to be like him, I don’t think that’s our best football. I like that they’ve noticed that and that we just have to go out there and play our best game.”

The Chargers will start against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 on Sunday, September 8 at SoFi Stadium.