Chargers Pick Jim Harbaugh as Next Head Coach
The former San Francisco 49ers head coach makes his return to the NFL with unfinished business
The Los Angeles Chargers have found their new head coach.
Jim Harbaugh, fresh off winning the NCAA National Championship with his alma mater Michigan last month, is returning to the NFL and taking over a franchise desperate for relevance. Harbaugh will be the third head coach for the Bolts since their move to LA in 2017, but if things go according to plan, he will bring their coaching carousel to a halt (at least for the foreseeable future).
The hire reflects a departure from the Chargers’ typical approach to finding head coaches. Jim Harbaugh is a big name and a big personality. Long-time Charger fans know that the Spanos family typically likes to hire no-name coordinators who are controllable — and most importantly, cheap. Brandon Staley, Anthony Lynn, and Mike McCoy are recent examples of that. Norv Turner, who was their HC from 2007–2013, was the last Chargers hire with previous HC experience. At the time, Turner’s success as a HC was limited, so it was far from a home run hire. On top of that, he was replacing Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired after a 14–2 campaign. Despite the Chargers’ heartbreaking loss to the Patriots in the 2006 AFC Divisional round that ultimately led to the decision to part ways with Marty, the head-scratching move was heavily criticized.
But now, eighteen years after Marty was kicked out the door, the Chargers find themselves in La La Land competing with the Rams for pertinence in a town run by the Dodgers and Lakers. Cheap no-name coordinators will no longer do the trick, and the Spanos family appears to have finally learned their lesson.
Harbaugh last coached in the NFL in 2014 after spending four successful seasons with the San Fransisco 49ers, where he accumulated a record of 44–19–1, which is the 5th highest winning percentage for a HC in NFL History (.695) — only trailing Guy Chamberlain (.784), John Madden (.759), Vince Lombardi (.738), and George Allen (.712), who are all in the Hall of Fame. Granted, those other guys have a much, much larger sample size of NFL coaching experience, but regardless, Harbaugh has proven to be a winner everywhere he’s coached, including the University of San Diego, Stanford, the 49ers, and Michigan. He’s been a magnet for success. Ironically, he now joins a franchise that has been anything but.
Still, the Chargers are hoping to change their ways; hiring Harbaugh is a good start.
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And while Charger fans are ecstatic, there is probably no one happier than Justin Herbert. The superstar QB’s young career has been filled with heartbreak and disappointment. In four years as a starter, he has a record of 30–32, and his only playoff appearance (in 2022) ended in a shocking loss to Jacksonville in the Wild Card Round, a game the Chargers led 27–0 at one point. The Oregon product has shown he has generational talent. However, in a conference filled with the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, he will need playoff success to earn a spot at the “big boy” table. Luckily for Herbert, he now has a coach who can help him continue to unlock his potential — and also win games.
Harbaugh has played a key role in the development of several QBs, notably Josh Johnson, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, and most recently, JJ McCarthy (who is projected to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft). Additionally, he helped revive Alex Smith’s career with the 49ers. Smith, who was the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, saw limited success in his first six years in the NFL but made it to the NFC championship in his first year playing under Harbaugh. Thus, Herbert is in good hands, and if Harbaugh can replicate his magic and help his new franchise QB continue to elevate his game, the Chargers can be a legitimate threat in the AFC.
But that’s still an if though, because although the hire is a good one, there is no guarantee that Harbaugh will bring immediate success like he did with the 49ers all those years ago; there are still questions to answer and challenges to overcome. First, he’s joining a division with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won eight straight AFC West titles. Taking that crown off their head will not be easy. The Chargers last won the West in 2009, when Herbert was only 11 years old. So yes, it’s been a minute.
Moreover, although the Chargers’ roster is filled with talent, many key players are free agents this offseason. Notable names include RB Austin Ekeler, RB Josh Kelley, LB Kenneth Murray, TE Gerald Everett, WR Jalen Guyton, CB Michael Davis, DT Austin Johnson, among others. It is highly unlikely that they will all be back. The Chargers already have a lot of money committed to their other stars, including DE Joey Bosa, S Derwin James, LB Khalil Mack, WR Keenan Allen, and they also recently gave a big payday to Herbert. But that’s an issue for new Chargers GM Joe Horitz to address. Harbaugh can focus on finding success with the talented pieces he has inherited, despite the imminent departures. The Chargers hold the fifth-overall pick in this year’s draft so that certainly helps too.
Harbaugh will have a team loaded with superstars on both sides of the ball, and maximizing their potential will be his top priority. His last few predecessors also inherited talented rosters but were unable to accomplish anything, so it is up to Harbaugh to finally crack the code.
Although Harbaugh is an offensive mind, his tenure in San Francisco was primarily characterized by a strong defense. From 2011–2013, the Niners ranked top 5 in both total yards allowed and total points, and in 2014, they were 10th in points allowed but top 5 once again in total yards. Also of note, his offenses failed to crack the top 10 in either total yards or points scored in all of his four years. Yet, Harbaugh never had a gunslinger like Herbert in the NFL, so finding offensive success should be a lot easier this time. Having such a talented QB and not cracking the top 10 in the major offensive categories will not be good enough in LA.
Ultimately, the Chargers are hoping to finally turn the page on a long-lasting legacy of underachievement and disappointment. They wasted the careers of stars like Phillip Rivers, LaDanian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Shawn Merriman, and others. Will the Jim Harbaugh era bring a much-needed spark to the franchise and bring different results with their new generation of stars? We will find out soon enough.
One thing’s for sure: it can’t be any worse than what it has been before.
February 1st, 2024
