The Los Angeles Chargers were perhaps the most disappointing team in the NFL a year ago. They almost never played a complete game and finished the season with a 5-12 record. Instead of making a run at the Kansas City Chiefs and possibly winning the AFC West title, they finished dead last in the division.
It was clear that head coach Brandon Staley was in over his head during his tenure with the Chargers from 2020 until he was fired during the 2023 season. Staley was unable to reach his players from a motivational perspective and his strategic efforts were even worse. Since the Chargers had been a playoff team in the 2022 season, owner Dean Spanos had little choice but to send Staley packing.
The Chargers made one of the most fascinating moves of the offseason when they hired Jim Harbaugh to serve as the the team's next head coach. Harbaugh has been brilliantly successful throughout his coaching career. He is coming off a national championship season at Michigan, and he led his team to the College Football Playoff in two consecutive seasons.
Prior to his time with the Wolverines, he coached the San Francisco 49ers and he led that team to a Super Bowl appearance. He also was very successful when he coached at Stanford prior to to his assignment with the Niners.
Harbaugh is something of an old-school coach because he asks for compliance to his thought process and can be challenging if he does not see his players giving maximum effort. On the other hand, he excels at building team camaraderie and also is something of a strategic wizard.
Chargers have an excellent quarterback at hand
While the Chargers fell badly last season, there is little doubt that Los Angeles has one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL in Justin Herbert. He has a powerful arm, a quick release, accuracy and the ability to sense the rush.
Herbert completed 297 of 456 passes for 3,134 yards with 20 touchdowns and 7 interceptions last season.
Herbert should have a viable running game that will take some of the responsibility off of his shoulders. Former Baltimore Ravens J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards take over from Austin Ekeler, and those two are likely to carry quite a bit of the load for the Harbaugh-led offense. While the passing game is always vital in the modern NFL, Harbaugh loves a ground-based attack.
The key for both Dobbins and Edwards will be avoiding injuries. Dobbins hopes to return to the form he had in 2020 when he rushed for 805 yards, a 6.0 yards per attempt mark and 9 rushing touchdowns. Edwards rushed for 810 yards and 13 touchdowns last year with Baltimore.
Key changes at the receiver position for Chargers
The Chargers have made big moves at the wide receiver postion. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are gone, and the Chargers are going to depend on Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey and Joshua Palmer.
Johnston goes into his second year after a disappointing rookie season that saw him catch 38 passes for 431 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, Johnston competed against Harbaugh's Wolverines in the 2022 postseason, and the coach knows he is capable of producing big numbers.
Palmer is underrated at this point in his career because he is coming off a season in which he caught 38-581-2. However, if the 6-1, 210-pound Palmer can stay healthy for a full season, he is capable of catching 80 passes or more from Herbert.
Defense must step up for the Chargers
The Los Angeles defense simply fell apart last year as the Chargers ranked 28th in yards allowed per game with 362.9. The pass defense was disastrous for the Chargers, as they gave up 249.8 air yards per game and that ranked an unacceptable 30th in the league.
The Chargers were able to put some pressure on opposing quarterbacks as Khalil Mack had a remarkable 17.0 sacks, but he did not get much help. Joey Bosa was limited by injuries and he had just 6.5 sacks.
The Chargers signed defensive tackle Poona Ford in the offseason and he should be a powerful run stopper in the middle of the defensive line. While he is short at 5-11, he checks in at a solid 310 pounds and is remarkably quick on the interior. He also has extremely long arms for a man his size.
Ford may be capable of shutting down the interior run by himself. Ford played five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before moving on to the Buffalo Bills last season. He is likely to find a great home with the Chargers.
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