The three most typical Jim Harbaugh facts from his revealing interview with GQ

From his favorite peanut butter to the multiple uses for khakis, Harbaugh has many interesting takes

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is a media gem. The reason for this is because he is 100 percent genuinely a man of many passions and unfiltered thoughts. Plus, his personality is, in a word, different. That makes him interesting. 

Again, this is good for soundbites and quotes, which he provided more than enough of in an extensive interview with GQ magazine. There have been many in-depth Harbaugh interviews before, but this might be the best collection of arbitrary information about him that I’ve read. Within that interview, there were three extremely “Jim Harbaugh” facts that stood out above everything else. 

Before going any further, it is critical that I encourage you to read the entire piece as it is tremendous work. The entertainment value is extordinary and you will not regret it. But if we’re to summarize the interview with three pieces of information you have to know, they are as follows. 

1. Harbaugh has strong beliefs about crunchy peanut butter: Alabama coach Nick Saban is fueled by Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. Harbaugh survives on a steady diet of crunchy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a glass of whole milk. He is particular about the crunchy peanuts, too.

“Before they had crunchy peanut butter, I would put peanuts in the creamy peanut butter,” Harbaugh said. I feel like if you mess with this -- if you were to dare provide Harbaugh with creamy peanut butter -- he might lose it. This is up there with Van Halen’s legendary “absolutely no brown M&M’s” in the rider story. 

2. Harbaugh wears khakis for almost literally every life event: You didn’t think Harbaugh only sported khakis during games, did you? This is one of those factoids that you might not have known before, but it’s not at all surprising when revealed to be true. The man has Doug Funnie’s closet. 

Do your game day khakis differ from your going out to dinner khakis, or your lounge khakis? 
No. Just pretty much the same one. That’s the best part about them. You can go anywhere and be dressed appropriately: game day, or church, or out to dinner. The movies. I can workout in my khakis. And do. They’re similar to sweatpants. Coaching, [they’re] great because they’ve got pockets to put your pens and scripts. Chewing gum. Et cetera.

Harbaugh’s history is well-documented, so none of this should be shocking. 

3. Harbaugh got in trouble as a kid for being loud: What was Harbaugh like as a kid? Turns out, he didn’t get into a lot of mischief, he was just loud. “Nothing real bad. I was a pretty good kid,” Harbaugh said. “Just loud. Loud in the house. Loud everywhere. But it’s paying off now.” Of all the things Harbaugh told GQ, this has to be the one that makes the most sense. If you’ve ever watched Harbaugh coach a game from the sidelines, you know there’s no way that can be new behavior. 

Harbaugh is unofficially known as the king of the offseason because of interviews like this. Not many coaches are willing to be this open about their personal lives, but the sport is more fun when they are. Harbaugh is a polarizing individual among fans and media -- some feel he’s too much -- but the man humanizes himself better than just about everyone. 

All sports can use more personalities like him, personalities who are unafraid of being themselves. We need more Steve Spurriers and Mike Leaches, not fewer. They provide valuable depth to the people we follow so closely for months on end.