Jim Harbaugh on start with Chargers: 'It's been the best damn job I've ever had to start out with'

The Jim Harbaugh era in Los Angeles officially kicked off when the Chargers opened their offseason workout program on Tuesday.

The ever-energetic Harbaugh, who spent the past nine years at Michigan, called his first three months on the job the best start to a new gig he’s ever experienced.

“They’ve been great. This is just true, it’s been the best damn job I’ve ever had to start out with,” he said Tuesday, via the team’s official transcript. “I hope that it ends that way, but it’s been a tremendous start. Hiring coaches, free agency — that’s not just one day, that goes for a while — getting ready for the draft. Really excited about the coaching staff and the amount of work that has been produced over the last month-and-a-half. It’s been a lot, they’ve done a great job. It’s been locked, cocked, ready to rock, just needed the players to come in, and we got that today. It’s been really good.”

Never one to shy away from hyperbole, Harbaugh has had many new jobs in his run as a football coach, from the University of San Diego to Stanford to the San Francisco 49ers to Michigan, and now to L.A. In most cases, his success has come swiftly.

The Chargers kicked off Phase One of the offseason program, a two-week voluntary portion strictly limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and rehab work. In Phase Two, players will hit the field for drills and individual work.

“It just feels good,” Harbaugh said of getting to work. “It’s like the start of the new year — Happy New Year. That’s the way that it feels. It’s like that first day of school, or a family reunion, or homecoming. …

“It just feels like there is a new lift and energy in the building. I see that eagerness in the players. Maybe that’s just because I’m so eager, but I truly see it, an eagerness with our guys. A good first day.”

Harbaugh hopes to quickly turn that good first day into a good many days as the Chargers work to rebuild their roster in their new coach’s likeness.