How Justin Herbert of the Chargers “knocked out” Jim Harbaugh in an elevator incident

The relationship between Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert will be interesting to follow in Harbaugh's first season with the Los Angeles Chargers. So far, Harbaugh has had tremendous success with quarterbacks, and if Chargers fans' prayers are answered, Herbert could finally earn a playoff win.

Although outcomes are decided on the field, Harbaugh, a notoriously oddball figure in the football world, found a way to praise Herbert this week for a bizarre off-field incident.

On Friday night, about a dozen players and Jeri Fouts, the wife of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, were trapped together in a hotel elevator. The elevator remained stuck for two hours before firefighters lifted the people through the ceiling into another elevator.

A scary situation, that was for sure, but Harbaugh used the incident as an opportunity to judge his character.

“You get into situations like that and it's a test of will,” Harbaugh said. “I was proud of each of the men and the two women who were in that elevator. It's a victory. It makes you feel good. You were challenged. It was a test of will and you either make it down or you make it in.”

As for Herbert, the quarterback didn't sweat much despite the reported heat in the elevator, which apparently impressed Harbaugh.

“And it was hot,” Harbaugh said. “When people came out of the elevator, they were all sweaty and some had their shirts off. Justin Herbert's hair was a little wet. But his shirt was completely dry. That was another thing that blew me away.”

Harbaugh also said that some in the elevator praised Herbert for his behavior in the elevator, specifically saying he was a “leader” and “a rock” who “calmed everyone down.”

Can Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert lead the Chargers to the playoffs?

Jim Harbaugh is entering his first season as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Harbaugh was previously head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the University of Michigan football program. With Colin Kaepernick as quarterback in San Francisco, he reached the Super Bowl and won the national championship earlier this year with current Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy at the helm of the Wolverines.

Justin Herbert, who the Chargers drafted sixth overall in 2020, is entering his fifth season in the NFL. Although Herbert is often the focus of debates about his play, he has nonetheless proven to be a relatively consistent presence for the Chargers, who have made the postseason just once and have not won more than 10 regular-season games with Herbert.

Last season, Herbert broke a finger on his throwing hand in December, ending his season early. At the time, the Chargers were 5-8 and Herbert had thrown for 3,134 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Harbaugh will be Herbert's third NFL coach; after a year with Anthony Lynn, Herbert played for Brandon Staley, who was fired last year shortly after Herbert's season-ending injury.