CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It was the day after the Carolina Panthers suffered their 15th straight loss to end a 1-15 season in 2001. Head coach George Seifert had been fired hours earlier. The mood was quiet as Jack Harbaugh and his wife helped their son move out of the Charlotte hotel he had called home the past two months as the team's scout team quarterback.
Jim Harbaugh didn't tell his parents he was calling it quits as a player that day. But he knew after 15 seasons and consecutive 1-15 records with the then-San Diego Chargers and Panthers it was time to follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother, John.