During his introductory press conference, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked by The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, “What is your vision for what this offense will look like specifically in regards to the quarterback that you have?”
Harbaugh went on to outline a checklist of his vision of what to do on offense. Here are bullet points for what he said in the order he said them:
- “Protect the quarterback. Protect his environment”
- “Beef up the running game”
- Emphasized “play action” and the “drop-back passing game.”
- Play “a balanced type of football.”
- Emphasized the importance of quality blocking pass catchers to have a strong running game.
Jim Harbaugh’s thoughts on hiring an offensive coordinator
When answering Popper’s follow-up question about finding an offensive coordinator Jim Harbaugh elaborated a bit more on these points of emphasis, particularly about the OC’s role in defining the above items, saying “What kind of offense do you want? Do you envision? What kind of unit do you envision? Next is to really tell me about the offensive line. That’s where it starts. I hear that the vision is the same that the offense is not gonna turn the ball over, but is going to put points on the board and play physical.”
Harbaugh continued, “A team that is tough, can block. We wanna be balanced (offense). Run game, pass game, and protect the quarterback. There’s a tone there. There’s an example set from the coordinator that is unselfish. It’s the same that we want from the players, and we want from our offensive coordinator. It’s not about stats. It’s about our team winning.”
Harbaugh didn’t elaborate on whether these things will define the team’s upcoming free agency or draft, but he did say that staffing is his top priority. The offensive coordinator will certainly fit inside Harbaugh’s vision, but the offense won’t be finalized until the chosen one casts their identity over the squad.
Harbaugh didn’t go into detail on how he plans to maximize Justin Herbert, but he does recognize that Herbert is a “crown jewel in the National Football League”
