Jim Harbaugh is super bummed that he didn’t get stuck in an elevator with 15 other members of the Los Angeles Chargers organization. The first-year head coach was very close to getting trapped for two hours and genuinely wishes the doors hadn’t closed without him.
It is the ultimate spin zone for a really unfortunate, fairly frightening situation.
Los Angeles played to a seven-point win over the Cowboys in its final preseason game on Saturday. Less than 24 hours prior, approximately 15 Chargers players and personnel had to be rescued from an elevator at their team hotel.
According to Dallas Fire Rescue, crews responded to a call at the Westin around 7:44 p.m. on Friday. An elevator was stuck in a “blind shaft” somewhere between the third and 15th floors. An electrician was unable to get the elevator working. Everybody inside was completely shut in for more than 90 minutes and they were not comfortable. It was packed pretty tight!
Former @UBFootball running back Jaret Patterson rose to the occasion and posted quick documentation of the Chargers’ elevator detour on his Instagram stories.
— Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻♀️😎 (@rachelmlenzi) August 24, 2024
⚡️Bonus question: what line would Jim Harbaugh use to describe this scenario? https://t.co/OOBeeZEMLR pic.twitter.com/rmOdhGVxj7
If that wasn’t sketchy enough, Dallas Fire Rescue crews had to lift them out through ceiling panels. They essentially used a separate, working elevator car as a ferry to transfer those who trapped. Yeesh!
Although that does not sound like a fun time to most everybody, Harbaugh felt left out.
It was a shared experience, 11 or 12 of our players were there for about two hours. It brought them closer together. I just missed out on being out on the elevator. I wish I could’ve been there with those guys.
— Jim Harbaugh
The 60-year-old praised everybody in the elevator for their perseverance.
You get in those situations, and it’s a test of wills. I was proud of each of the guys and the two women that were on that elevator. That’s a win. You feel good about yourself. You were challenged. It was a test of will, and you pull it down, or pull it in.
— Jim Harbaugh
He touted quarterback Justin Herbert for being a leader during a difficult situation.
“Justin Herbert’s a leader. He was a rock. Kept everybody calm.” And everybody kept their poise.
— Jim Harbaugh, quoting his players
Harbaugh was also impressed with his signal-caller’s lack of sweat.
And it was hot. As each person came off the elevator, sweating and some had the shirt off. Justin Herbert, his hair was a little wet. But his shirt was completely dry. That was another thing that blew me away.
— Jim Harbaugh
Unfortunately, Jim Harbaugh was not part of the shared experience because the elevator left without him. He was severely disappointed that he didn’t get trapped in a small, confined space with 15 other people for nearly two hours and actually meant it. Quite literally everybody else in the world did not envy the Los Angeles Chargers’ unfortunate experience!