In an era when NFL offenses are obsessed with disguise, misdirection, and innovation, Jim Harbaugh is taking the road less traveled — and he’s doing it deliberately. During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the head coach made it clear: The Los Angeles Chargers don’t mind being predictable. In fact, they welcome it.
Jim Harbaugh Wants His Los Angeles Chargers To Be Predictable — On Purpose
“There’s a lot of people who want to talk finesse — out-scheme you, out-trick you,” Harbaugh said. “But I’ve been around Greg Roman a long time, been around Ben Herbert a long time — and that’s strong wind. Greg talks about it all the time: we want to have tendencies. We want to be predictable. Then we use those tendencies — that predictability — to our advantage.”
It’s a philosophy that runs counter to prevailing NFL dogma, where breaking tendencies is often seen as gospel. But for Harbaugh and his staff, including longtime offensive architect Greg Roman, simplicity breeds strength. If a team knows what’s coming but still can’t stop it, that’s not a weakness — it’s a weapon.
This approach also reflects Harbaugh’s identity as a coach: old-school, physical, and unflinchingly competitive. “It’s about the core elements of football — the fundamentals, the physicality, the toughness,” he added. “That’s what we’re striving for here.”
The Chargers will need to be tough. The AFC West is a gauntlet, and Harbaugh knows it. “We’ve got to be better — and I believe we will be. But we have to be, because the NFL is dog-eat-dog. And there’s nowhere more competitive than the AFC West.”
It’s not flashy, and it’s not fancy. But if Harbaugh’s plan works, “predictable” may become the scariest word in football.
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