Jim Harbaugh making solid start following return to NFL after decade away

Having made his return to the NFL nearly ten years after his departure from the San Francisco 49ers (in an apparent mutual agreement to do so), Jim Harbaugh has made a solid start to life in charge of the Los Angeles Chargers.

After a horrendous 2023, which saw the SoFi Stadium side finish the regular season with a 5-12 record, one imagines the aims in Harbaugh’s first season are to get back into postseason action and wins over the Las Vegas Raiders and the Carolina Panthers in his first two games in charge certainly would have whet the appetites of the team’s fans.

Subsequent losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but to a lesser extent to the all-conquering Kansas City Chiefs, will have brought everyone connected with the Chargers back down to earth. Nonetheless, do not be surprised if Harbaugh’s side is in the playoffs; we are, after all, talking about a coach who has a great record, both in the NFL and in college football, where he led Michigan to an unbeaten National Championship in 2023.

If you want to bet on Harbaugh’s magic rubbing off on the Chargers, then why not make use of this great Fanatics sportsbook promo, which will help make your wager close to risk-free in nature? Remember, in four seasons at Candlestick Park, he racked up a very healthy 44-19 regular season record, albeit resulting in two Championship Game losses.

After these two latest losses, Harbaugh gets a chance to dig a little under the hood during their bye week. In many ways, the break comes at the best time, and the head coach is ready to make the most of it,

“We would like it to be a little later, like right in the middle ideally, but it’s a good thing where we are now,”

“When it comes this early you want to get the team refreshed.”

“This is an opportunity to improve in areas where we need,”

“Everyone has their one or two things. We have a great faith and belief that we can get that done. At times it has been good, but good isn’t good enough for where we want to be.” he added.

Next up for the Chargers is a trip to Denver to play the Broncos, where they have failed to win a game since 2018. What is key to how Los Angeles performs in 2024 is just what they can get out of star quarterback Justin Herbert, and that, in turn, depends on how much protection they can offer him.

He has already suffered a niggling ankle injury. It does not help that both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are out, given these are two of the best players Harbaugh has who can adequately give Herbert more time to operate as well as help prevent him from suffering a lengthier injury concern. This concern almost seems inevitable at this point.

Against the Chiefs he was sacked on two occasions and was constantly pressured. This is to be expected against a team as good as Andy Reid’s, but still, it’s something Harbaugh is sure to be looking to deal with more effectively.

“We’ve got to get Justin another half-second, second, we really do,” Harbaugh commented on the situation.

“I mean, he’s trying to get the ball out as fast as he possibly can, and he is. And like I said, some of those throws that he made, I mean I don’t have the adjective for it. It’s warrior-like; it’s everything within his human power, and then some, is the way I look at it. It’s incredible what he can do. We do need to get him more [time], just another second.” He concluded. A win over the Broncos would help in a big way, but it’s worth noting they have won their last two games, having lost both their opening clashes.