Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers are dipping back into the college ranks for their latest hire. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, they are set to hire Vanderbilt star and nickels coach Jimmy Thompson to work with their defensive backs.
Thompson has spent the past five seasons with the Commodores, working his way up their coaching staff after joining them in 2021 as a graduate assistant. He was promoted to analyst in 2023 and was named the nickels coach in 2024.
He has risen quickly up the coaching ranks, interning at Notre Dame from January to July in 2019, where he helped the safeties and linebackers. He then served as the linebackers coach at Hinsdale Central High School before becoming a quality control coach with the LSU Tigers in 2020.
Thompson played linebacker for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2015-18, serving on the scout team for the first three seasons. He played in three games in 2018, recording six tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. That is where he met Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, who was their linebackers coach in 2017 and defensive coordinator from 2018-20 before taking over the Commodores.
The Chargers went 11-6 last season and will have a new defensive coordinator in Chris O’Leary, whom Harbaugh hired away from Western Michigan earlier in the offseason.
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