Chargers: John Lott shares how the crazy Justin Herbert haircut happened

Justin Herbert tore up the NFL last season. The LA Chargers quarterback set rookie passing record after rookie passing record en route to winning the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was elite on the field, but he also set the league on fire off the field.

Herbert broke the internet midway through last season when he showed up to a press conference sporting a buzz cut. Herbert had some of the best hair in the entire league and ditched it without a warning.

BREAKING: Justin Herbert got a haircut. pic.twitter.com/EEU2IoEalm

— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) November 18, 2020

Herbert said then that the Chargers’ strength and conditioning coach, John Lott (who is no longer with the team), cut his hair for him. While it seemed like a funny joke at the time, Herbert was being 100% serious. Lott was the barber responsible for the haircut.

Lott appeared on Friday’s episode of the Charger Chat Podcast, the official Chargers podcast of Bolt Beat and FanSided. And of course, the first thing that Lott had to explain was how that haircut went down.

“[Justin] was like, ‘hey coach, I want to cut my hair,’  so I’m sitting there like, ‘let’s roll,’ and he goes ‘I want you to cut it.’ Tuesday is our off-day in the NFL, so everyone had left the building basically and we set up a chair in the weight room, I got my clippers and Gabe Nabers was right there and we went to cutting. After we cut, it looked like a wig.”

Lott followed up the story by pointing out that the Chargers played winning football after he cut Justin Herbert’s hair. However, he did not confirm whether or not Herbert wanted to cut his hair to change the fortunes of the team last season.

John Lott gives nothing but praise to LA Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

John Lott has been in the league a long time. He has seen great quarterback after great quarterback pass through the NFL via his days working for the NFL Combine. He spent over a decade with Philip Rivers. He knows what a great quarterback looks like.

Lott was nothing but complimentary of Justin Herbert in this interview. Lott explained that the Chargers are in great hands and that Herbert is going to be a winner for decades. He shared a story in which former NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde told Lott that Herbert was the best rookie quarterback he had ever seen. Lott says that he has not seen an arm as powerful since he saw Testaverde play.

The former LA Chargers strength and conditioning coach also shares that Herbert felt the strongest he has ever felt at the end of the season last year. According to Lott, Herbert was weighing around 238 pounds, whereas he would weigh around 222 pounds at the end of his college seasons.

The difference? Herbert was lifting during the season. Herbert would not lift during the season with Oregon, and Lott truly does believe that if the Chargers would have punched a ticket to the playoffs they would have made some noise because of Herbert.

Justin Herbert is not the only talking point of this fantastic interview done by the Charger Chat guys. Lott also talks about his coaching style, the adjustment of having to coach in front of ‘Hard Knocks’ cameras last season as well open the curtain up on Derwin James’ injury from last season.

You can listen to the full-length interview in the embedded player above or anywhere you get your podcasts. Charger Chat also uploads the full episodes, with face cams, to their YouTube page. If you want to see Lott while he is talking that is the way to go.

Be sure to follow both John Lott (@JohnRLott) and the Charger Chat Podcast (@ChargerChatPod) for more LA Chargers content!