The Jim Harbaugh era is here

Dethroning the Kansas City Chiefs from being perched on top of the AFC West Division has proven to be nothing more than a wish list for the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders for the past eight years. 

That’s a long time of dominance. During this run, the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been the victors of three Super Bowl trophies.  

During this run of dominance by the Chiefs, the Chargers have gone through multiple head coaches. The Chargers want to end Kansas City’s reign as AFC West champions. Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers’ new head coach, is expected to take the team to that mountaintop. 

When and if that will happen remains to be seen. But there is one thing for sure, the Chargers are going to battle and compete the Harbaugh way. That means playing Old School smashmouth football. Harbaugh wants the Chargers to be physical.   

He is also drawn to having his people pay attention to details, which he views to be important. 

“It’s a lot of things, but number one is biblical. The word discipline comes from disciple,” Harbaugh said after a minicamp practice. “Being a good follower, I think that’s where it starts. For me, it was my dad, just the way he trained me from being a little kid. ‘Hey, Jim, whoever the expert is, that person knows the subject matter better than you do. 

“Whether that’s a coach, a teacher at school, a professor, whatever it is, a doctor, especially. That person knows the subject better than you do. If you listen to that person and do what they tell you to do, then you will be successful.’ That’s just engrained like the DNA. That’s carried over, whether it’s football or anything else. That’s the way I learned to do it,” Harbaugh added. 

Harbaugh is fresh off winning a national title at the University of Michigan. He has led a team to a Super Bowl appearance (San Francisco 49ers). So he’s been there and done that. He knows what it is like to compete at the NFL level. 

In his four seasons with the 49ers, Harbaugh went 44-19-1 and made it to three NFC Conference Championship games, earning a trip to the Super Bowl where his team lost out to Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens. 

After nine years at Michigan, Harbaugh is back in the NFL, securing a multi-year deal with the Chargers. 

The challenge awaiting Harbaugh is that he has been away from the game where things have drastically changed. One notable difference in the NFL is that every team has a mobile quarterback. 

At the time that he made his Super Bowl run with the 49ers, Harbaugh made it to the big show with Colin Kaepernick as his starting quarterback. That was way back when a mobile quarterback was more the exception than the rule. 

In today’s NFL, due to the superiority in speed of defensive linemen and edge rushers, an accurate passer with wheels is now part of the resume package for quarterbacks. Harbaugh returns to the league fortunate to have another strapping quarterback leading his team. 

Justin Herbert is often hailed as one of the premier quarterbacks in the entire NFL. Yet after four seasons in the league, Herbert has yet to record a playoff victory. That is all expected to change with Harbaugh at the helm.

After suffering an injury during training camp, Herbert missed the preseason action with his foot in a walking boot. But he’ll be fine for the season-opening debut. One of the best things for Herbert is to be coached by a man who has also played the quarterback position at the NFL level. 

Harbaugh played 14 seasons in the NFL, including his final two with the (San Diego Chargers). 

“I think it’s really cool,” Herbert said on being coached by Harbaugh. “ For him to come into the quarterback room and share his thoughts, it’s great perspective. He’s done it. He’s coached and played at such a high level for so long that any advice like that is awesome.” 

“It’s great for us and we get to learn from him and [Offensive Coordinator] Greg Roman, [Quarterbacks Coach] Shane Day, [Senior Offensive Assistant] Mark Tresman, [Passing Game Coordinator] Marcus Brady — all these guys that have had such a major impact on the game that it’s really good for us,” he went to say.