LOS ANGELES -- For almost all 67 years of their franchise history, the Los Angeles Chargers have been synonymous with disappointment coming in heartbreaking fashion.
Coach Jim Harbaugh's arrival in January 2024 appeared to be a paradigm shift.
Harbaugh was a month removed from coaching Michigan to a national championship. He was a top coaching candidate with a track record of winning. And Harbaugh chose the Chargers. A team that had just won five games in 2023 and desperately needed a change in culture.
The excitement was palpable in Los Angeles. In a city of stars, the Chargers now had their own.
At his introductory news conference, Harbaugh proclaimed the Chargers would win "multiple championships." Much of his confidence was rooted in star quarterback Justin Herbert, whom Harbaugh called a "crown jewel."
Harbaugh was enthralled with Herbert's 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame, arm strength and running ability. The coach promised to build a team and staff around Herbert that would make them championship-caliber -- with the belief that Herbert was already good enough to get them there.
"Protect him. Protect his environment. On the field, protect him," Harbaugh said at the time. "Also, beef up the run game and play-action pass and the dropback game. ... I think that we can be extraordinary there with the receivers we have and the quarterback."
A week later, new general manager Joe Hortiz echoed Harbaugh: "We want to develop a really good run game. You build a great run game and a great offensive line, you protect your quarterback. I've seen it done year in and year out, where I came from. You help him by supporting him with players that help the entire offense."
Yet two seasons later, Harbaugh and Hortiz haven't delivered on their promises. Instead, Herbert has been among the NFL's most pressured and hit quarterbacks, the Chargers' running game has remained average, and the team's pass catchers have disappointed.
Herbert hasn't exactly held up his end of the bargain, either. Harbaugh did his part to lead this team from five wins to back-to-back 11-win playoff-berth seasons, relying on Herbert's elite play. But both playoff losses ended in embarrassing fashion for the Chargers, where Herbert uncharacteristically threw multiple interceptions and missed receivers, and his greatness vanished in the biggest of moments.
The Harbaugh-Herbert partnership was supposed to bring this franchise championships. Instead, in their third season together, neither look like the best version of themselves. And this week, Harbaugh challenged his quarterback to "be better."
Harbaugh and Herbert will try to save a spiraling season, by turning around one of the NFL's worst offenses (fourth worst in the league in points per game 14.7), when the winless Chargers play the reigning Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). ESPN's Football Power Index, which before the season gave the Chargers the fifth-best odds to make the Super Bowl, now gives the Bolts the third-worst odds at making the postseason.
"Obviously not where we want to be," Herbert said. "And it starts with me."
HABRAUGH TYPICALLY FLOATS around at Chargers practice. He's not a playcalling coach, leaving those responsibilities to his coordinators.
On this day during a training camp practice ahead of Harbaugh's first season in 2024, he pulled fourth-string quarterback Casey Bauman out of the drill to correct his footwork on a handoff. Bauman was cut weeks later, but it didn't matter to the coach. The details were paramount for anyone in Chargers' powder blue.
It's the only drill in which Harbaugh has been a regular participant in three seasons coaching this team, likely because dominant rushing offenses are where he's made a living in football.
The San Francisco 49ers, whom he coached from 2011 to 2014, ranked second in yards per game (139.6) over that span. In his last season at Michigan, the Wolverines were third in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (169.1).
That's what made a Harbaugh-Herbert pairing so exciting. Herbert had never played with a dominant rusher. "Can you imagine Justin Herbert with a great running game?" former Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said ahead of the 2024 season. "... We don't know, but I can imagine what it might look like."
We still don't know.
Since Harbaugh arrived, the Chargers' rushing offense has ranked 16th in yards per game (115.9), 19th in yards per rush (4.2) and 21st in runs of 10-plus yards. They've been slightly better this season, a backfield buoyed by 2025 first-round pick Omarion Hampton and Keaton Mitchell. The Chargers rank 14th in yards per rush (4.2) and 12th in rushing yards per game (113) and runs of 10-plus yards.
But it still isn't the dominant ground game that has long been associated with Harbaugh teams.
Their rushing issues mostly come down to personnel. Injuries have played a factor, but the Chargers haven't had any difference-makers on the interior offensive line. Hortiz's biggest signings have been guard Mekhi Becton -- who was released after one season -- and center Tyler Biadasz -- who suffered a season-ending left ACL injury in this year's training camp.
Also, the poor line play has resulted in Herbert taking a beating and somewhat changing his play style. Since 2024, Herbert's 391 quarterback hits rank first, and the Chargers have allowed 112 sacks, which ranks fifth most in the league. According to ESPN Analytics/NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chargers' pass block win rate this season (45%) ranks 27th and is the team's second-lowest through three games since the metric was introduced in 2017.
Because of the poor offensive line Herbert has been scrambling more than ever. Last season, he rushed for a career-high 498 rushing yards and the third most on the Chargers
"He has taken too many [hits]," Harbaugh said last season. "It's very concerning. We've got to get better. We got to put him in a better position."
A year later, Herbert is still among the league's most-hit quarterbacks, ranking fourth (34), but Harbaugh's tune has changed.
IT WAS THE fourth quarter of last season's Week 6 game against the Miami Dolphins, with just under 40 seconds remaining on second down. Herbert dropped back to pass and defensive end Jaelan Phillips had him dead to rights for a sack, but somehow Herbert shook him off. Herbert quickly found wide receiver Ladd McConkey for a 42-yard gain, and four plays later the Chargers nailed a game-winning field goal.
The play was an example of why many see Herbert as one of the league's best, despite not having won a playoff game in six seasons. It's also why Harbaugh took the job -- to be paired with who he calls the most talented quarterback he has ever had.
But too many times, this version of Herbert -- the one who pulls a miraculous play to put his team in position to win -- has vanished in the Chargers' biggest moments.
The Chargers won 11 games in the past two seasons because of an elite defense and Herbert's ability to take over a game, but when asked to be the exact same player in the postseason, Herbert has failed.
In his first season with Harbaugh, Herbert had a league-low three interceptions, but in their 32-12 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, Herbert became the first player in NFL history to throw more interceptions in a playoff game (four) than in the regular season.
He finished 14-of-32 passing (43.8%), the third-worst completion percentage in a playoff game in Chargers history and was sacked four times. After that game, Harbaugh defended Herbert, saying he played like a "complete beast."
The following January, Herbert shrunk again. This time in a 16-3 wild-card loss to the New England Patriots.
Herbert had no interceptions in this game, but finished with just 159 passing yards. He missed wide-open receivers, drifted into six sacks, and again, looked like a different version of the player he had been all season.
Again, Harbaugh defended him, calling Herbert a "warrior."
After the loss, Harbaugh fired his longtime friend and the only offensive coordinator he had in the NFL, Roman, opting to bring in innovative former NFL coach Mike McDaniel for the 2026 season.
Three games into this new era, however, Herbert looks lost, and Harbaugh has finally broken character, saying this week that Herbert needs to "be better" in his decision-making. It was a rare public criticism from Harbaugh of his seemingly favorite player and was reflective of just how poorly things have gone this season.
Harbaugh said that the quest to be better is a challenge for the entire staff to save a season heading in the wrong direction.
"As far as with me, I gotta play better," Herbert said.
McDANIEL'S ARRIVAL IN Los Angeles felt a lot like Harbaugh's. He was the best coach available at the biggest area of need for this Chargers team.
Just over two weeks after the Chargers' playoff loss to the Patriots, L.A.'s leadership gathered for McDaniel's introductory news conference: Harbaugh, Hortiz and president John Spanos among them. The Chargers' offensive savior was here, it seemed.
On that day, McDaniel emphasized the chance to work with Harbaugh and Herbert as something he couldn't pass up. Fired after four seasons as the coach in Miami, where he was criticized for his inability to lead a team, McDaniel arrived with an opportunity to prove he'd be ready for the next coaching opportunity by learning under one of the most proven in Harbaugh.
But first, McDaniel had planned to change the way Herbert played quarterback.
"Not relying too heavily on Justin's ability to do above and beyond, I think, is critical to maximize those types of opportunities," McDaniel said. "That'll be one of the first things that we'll try to do, is take a little off his plate so that he is free to do that when his greatness is required."
McDaniel changed Herbert's shotgun stance -- an adjustment he has made before with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and quarterback Matt Ryan among others -- moving Herbert's left foot in front of his right. The goal was to speed up Herbert's process, get the ball out a millisecond quicker to give receivers more opportunity for yards after catch.
He made Herbert take multiple days off from throwing in the offseason to prioritize his footwork. He implored Herbert to throw with timing -- and to be willing to throw interceptions in practice as he threw with more anticipation than he had in his career.
These changes were supposed to help Herbert "own" the position, McDaniel said.
Instead, McDaniel's changes have tanked Herbert's play. Herbert is tied for second with four interceptions, has the league's sixth-worst completion percentage (59%) and his QBR (27.4) is second-to-last.
McDaniel said this week that "nothing's changed with Justin Herbert" and took blame for his struggles, promising that the tide would turn as he learns his new quarterback.
"I think at this point I have a much better understanding of things that lead to him making good plays," McDaniel said.
On paper, owner Dean Spanos finally did everything he was supposed to do. He got the can't-miss coach, coordinator and quarterback. But the Chargers are back to being what they've always been: a disappointment.
Herbert and Harbaugh's partnership will be at the center of saving a season on life support.
"I think we've been really close over the past couple of years," Herbert said of Harbaugh this week. "I think he's a guy that we all rely on and lean into because he's been around so much football. ... He's a guy that we gotta trust in this situation."
