The Harbaugh Brothers Were Raised by Football-Loving Parents With Their Own Sports Backgrounds

Brothers in the NFL are not a new thing. Sure, in recent years, players like Travis and Jason Kelce have made headlines. But Jim Harbaugh and older brother, John Harbaugh, had the brother thing in the NFL down well before the Kelces did.

Both John and Jim are NFL coaches, and Jim even played in the NFL before he retired from the game and began his career in coaching. So, who are the Harbaugh brothers' parents? Unsurprisingly, both of their parents have their own history in sports, and their dad was even a coach himself for years.

Jim coaches for the Los Angeles Chargers, and his brother John coached the Baltimore Ravens for years before he was let go from his role. In January 2026, USA Today reported that John was headed to the New York Giants. Both brothers spent their entire lives around football, though, because their parents, Jack Harbaugh and Jacqueline "Jackie" Cipiti, were in sports for years themselves.

Jack played college football and later made it to the NFL as a running back for the Buffalo Bills, according to NBC Sports. A few years later, he left to coach high school-level football. He went on to serve as the assistant coach at a handful of colleges, including Bowling Green State University, the University of Michigan, and Stanford University.

Jim and John's mom, Jackie, did not play football like the three men in her family. However, according to Bowling Green Statue University, she was a cheerleader when she attended the college. It was there that she and Jack met and they shared a love for the game. So much so that, once they had kids, Jackie would take their sons to the games that Jack coached.

Per BGSU, Jack even included Jim and John in football drills with the BGSU Falcons, and Jackie welcomed players to their home often. It's not totally clear if Jackie played sports herself or if cheerleading was the extent of her athletic career in college, but from the start of their relationship, football was there.

Although Jim now coaches the Los Angeles Chargers, before he went back to the NFL, he was the head coach for the Michigan State Wolverines. In 2023, Jim was suspended for three games due to accusations of scouting for students in person, which was unsanctioned.

Per ESPN, a statement from the school said that Jim was accused of "conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition."

Amid his suspension, his dad Jack came out of retirement to help coach the team and, together, they coached the last game. The Wolverines won its first national championship in more than 20 years. The New York Times reported that, at the time of the win, Jim joked that he could finally "sit at the big person's table" in his family.