There is a lot of buzz surrounding the Chargers, which has to do with Jim Harbaugh leading the charge.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr shared his 100 bold predictions for the upcoming season, and one of them is Harbaugh winning the Coach of the Year award.
Orr mentions that he believes Harbaugh will be out Giants’ Brian Daboll for the award and the Bolts will split the season series with the Chiefs, with both games being very tight.
Slightly edging out Brian Daboll’s work with the stunning second-place Giants, Harbaugh will be rewarded for capping a massive turnaround for the Los Angeles Chargers and ushering in a new era of toughness and grit. Sending the Chargers to the playoffs a little more than a year after the team was waxed 63–21 by the Las Vegas Raiders in prime time, leading to the firing of Brandon Staley, is enough to earn the award despite some spirited performances around the league. Harbaugh will go 1–1 against the Chiefs in his first year, with both games ending within a field goal.
It isn’t too far-fetched to assume that Harbaugh will be Coach of the Year in 2024. He is taking over a team that finished near the bottom last season and has shown the ability to turn a below .500 team in the 49ers and guide them to a 13-3 record in one season.
Harbaugh is bringing that old-school mindset of playing fast, physical and gritty on both sides of the ball, which has worked at every coaching stop.
With those principles paired with a talented quarterback in Justin Herbert and key players already on the roster and soon to be added to it, the hope is that he can not only get the Chargers back in the playoffs but achieve his goal of a Super Bowl and bring the first to the franchise.