Jim Harbaugh is entering his third season with the Los Angeles Chargers after the team made the playoffs in each of his first two years and then fell in the wild card round both times. The Chargers’ latest coaching shuffle is built around one question: can Harbaugh turn steady January trips into something that lasts longer?
That question is why his name is drawing attention now. Harbaugh has a 66-31-1 record across six seasons with the Chargers and San Francisco 49ers, has been to the playoffs in all but one of those years and has never finished below.500. For a coach with that kind of track record, the missing piece is obvious: the Chargers still have no Super Bowl run to show for it, and the wild card losses to the Houston Texans in 2024 and the New England Patriots in 2025 are the recent proof.
The Chargers have already started reshaping the roster and staff for 2026. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman was fired after last season, and Mike McDaniel was brought in to replace him, part of a broader set of changes on the offensive side of the ball. Jesse Minter was replaced by Chris O’Leary on the other side of the staff, a sign that Harbaugh is not standing still after two straight playoff exits. The moves suggest a coach trying to adjust before the season starts, not after another missed chance.
There is still friction in the shape of the job itself. Harbaugh has won everywhere close to the level that matters, but the Chargers have only matched that with playoff appearances, not playoff advancement. That gap is why the 2026 season matters so much: it is the next test of whether the changes can finally push the team past the round that ended both of the last two runs.
The next marker is the start of the 2026 NFL season, but the larger deadline is already in view. The Chargers are forced to think about the 2027 NFL Draft before the regular season even begins, which is what happens when a team believes it is close enough to plan for the future and not close enough to relax about it. For Harbaugh, the task is simple to say and hard to solve: make the right changes, hit the right buttons and turn a strong record into something bigger.
Elsewhere on the roster, the Chargers are also reportedly signing Justin Herbert’s brother, TE Patrick Herbert, to the practice squad and bringing back LB Junior Colson among 16 players signed there. Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram also remain part of the franchise’s recent history after being named one of the top 10 pass rush duos of the PFF era for their 2017 season, a reminder of how high the standard has been. That is the backdrop Harbaugh is working against now, and it leaves the same bottom line in place: the Chargers have stability, but they have not yet turned it into a Super Bowl breakthrough.
