The Los Angeles Chargers continue to move at lightning pace to build out their offensive staff with high-profile names. The newest addition is former Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman.
During his introductory press conference, Jim Harbaugh said that his top priority was filling his coaching staff. And he was not lying.
He joins the list of Ravens turned Chargers who have hired by both Harbaugh brothers. He was the offensive coordinator for the John Harbaugh in 2014 and 2015. Those teams were 8th and 25th in points scored.
Most recently Trestman was the head coach in the XFL for the Tampa Bay Vipers in 2020, which went 1-4 in the Covid-shortened season. As Bears head coach, he turned the 16th-ranked Bears offense in 2012 into the 2nd-ranked offense the next season. In 2014 the offense regressed to the 23rd ranked offense.
Original QB Guru: Marc Trestman
Before Matt Nagy and Nathaniel Hackett, there was Marc Trestman. He has been the quarterbacks coach for Bernie Kosar in college and with the Browns under Marty Schottenheimer. He worked under George Seifert with Steve Young in 1995 and 1996. He has had top-10 passing offenses with Joe Flacco, Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler, and Rich Gannon, who had an MVP season and took the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl.
Trestman has also worked for Jimmy Johnson, Bud Grant, Bill Callahan, and Sean Payton.
Los Angeles Chargers Attempt to Balance Run And Pass Under Greg Roman
Trestman’s official title is ‘senior offensive assistant’ and will work under offensive coordinator Greg Roman. In all his seasons as offensive coordinator, Roman has been in the top 10 in rushing attempts in every single season with a wide-ranging degree of success. He has been in the top 3 in rushing attempts in seven of his 10 seasons.
Adding Trestman looks like a move to try to balance the scales. Harbaugh did say he wanted to balance the run and the pass. It is one that also signals that the Harbaugh regime wants to invest in Justin Herbert not just be a power-run team. Herbert could be the most talented quarterback he has ever worked with outside of Steve Young.
The big question is does Trestman still have what it takes to train a QB today? He has been out of the league for seven years and was inconsistent in both Chicago and Baltimore.
Could this be an ill-fated move to ‘get the band’ back together or is it filling a room with coaches who have resumes that would make Sean McVay blush? Will Trestman and Roman butt heads or is this the football equivalent of a ‘team of rivals?’
