Running back Najee Harris signed with the Chargers this week, after four years in Pittsburgh. It wasn’t a difficult decision for him to leave the Steelers.
Meeting with reporters on Friday, Harris said he knew halfway through the 2024 season that he wouldn’t be returning.
“I didn’t plan on doing it,” Harris said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN.com, regarding his departure from the NFL team that drafted him in 2021. “It wasn’t something that was in the plan or anything, but it is a business.”
He said that coach Mike Tomlin was honest with him throughout the process.
Now, Harris will be playing for Jim Harbaugh. Harris said Harbaugh recruited him to Michigan in 2017. The effort included Harbaugh showing up at Harris’s homecoming game, wearing Harris’s high-school colors, and announcing the school’s homecoming queen.
“I was just like, what the heck?” Harris said. “I mean, this dude is calling out just doing everything, but that showed how much of a down-to-earth cool guy he is.”
Eight years later, what does Harris think of Harbaugh?
“He’s the same guy, man,” Harris said. “He’s always energetic, man. He’s always the life of the party, so he’s just a good guy to be around, down to earth, and he makes you feel comfortable.”
Now, they’re finally joining forces.
“When we played against them,” Harris said, “I saw the type of team that they’re on the rise to be and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Harris will get a chance to see the Steelers right away; Pittsburgh visits L.A. during the 2025 season.
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