Inside Jim Harbaugh's playoff record, Super Bowl history as Chargers coach returns to NFL playoffs

In Jim Harbaugh's return to the NFL, the veteran head coach helped turn the Chargers franchise around, leading Los Angeles to an 11-6 record and a wild-card berth. That means the Chargers will play the Texans during wild-card weekend in Harbaugh's first playoff game for Los Angeles.

In his first go-around as an NFL head coach, Harbaugh had a good amount of playoff success, as the 49ers were consistently one of the most dangerous teams in the league. Now, Harbaugh will try to recreate that magic with a Chargers franchise that has some historically bad playoff performances.

Here's a breakdown of how Harbaugh has faired in the playoffs throughout his coaching careers.

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Jim Harbaugh playoff record

During his time with the 49ers, Harbaugh went 5-3 in eight playoff games over the course of four seasons.

2012 NFL playoffs

In his first season as an NFL head coach, Harbaugh led the 49ers to a 12-4 record and a bye in the playoffs.

Harbaugh's first playoff win was over the Saints in 2012, as San Francisco held off a late New Orleans comeback, scoring a late touchdown to win 36-32. San Francisco then hosted the Giants in the NFC championship game but lost a tough one in overtime despite the 49ers winning four more games than New York in the regular season.

2013 NFL playoffs

The next season, the 49ers again had a bye with an 11-4-1 record and beat the Packers at home in the divisional round, 45-31. That game became known as Colin Kaepernick's breakout game, since the quarterback accounted for 444 total yards and four touchdowns.

In the NFC title game, the 49ers beat the Falcons in Atlanta after coming back from down 17, winning by a score of 28-24, marking the only time that Harbaugh made it to the Super Bowl. However, Harbaugh notably lost Super Bowl 47 that season to his brother and the Ravens, in what is his lone Super Bowl appearance.

2014 NFL playoffs

The only time Harbaugh has ever played in wild-card weekend was in 2014, when the 49ers beat the Packers 23-20 in Green Bay following another 12-win season. The 49ers then went on the road to beat the Panthers, 23-10, during divisional weekend, taking down another 12-win team.

San Francisco played in it's third-straight NFC championship game in 2014 against the Seahawks at the height of the Seattle-San Francisco rivalry. The Seahawks won a thriller and classic at home 23-17, resulting in the infamous Richard Sherman postgame interview, in what also happened to be the last playoff game Harbaugh coached.

In his last season with the 49ers, Harbaugh missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record before the team let him go. The veteran coach then spent nine years as Michigan's head coach, which peaked when the Wolverines won the National Championship last year. As a college coach, Harbaugh ended his career with a 2-2 record in the College Football Playoff.

Overall, Harbaugh proved that he can coach in the postseason, but is still missing a Lombardi Trophy to show it.

Has Jim Harbaugh won a Super Bowl?

Jim Harbaugh has never won a Super Bowl as a head coach, although he did come close over a decade ago.

In Super Bowl 47, Harbaugh coached the 49ers against his brother, John, and the Ravens in New Orleans. Baltimore got out to a huge lead in that game, taking a 21-6 lead into halftime and going up by as much as 22 in the game, but San Francisco made a fierce comeback to get within five points.

The 49ers had a chance to take the lead with two minutes left in the game, but couldn't score on a goal-to-go situation from the Ravens five-yard line. In the end, John got the best of his brother, and Jim hasn't been back to the Super Bowl since.

Jim Harbaugh coaching record

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