Three points in a playoff game were enough to get Greg Roman fired by the LA Chargers. The Chargers scored 15 combined points in Roman's two playoff games as offensive coordinator, forcing Jim Harbaugh's hand to go in a different direction.
It definitely wasn't an easy decision for Harbaugh despite the poor results. Harbaugh has a close relationship with Roman and has traditionally been loyal in his coaching career. That's how bad the offense was. The Chargers had no other option.
Roman wasn't the only offensive coach the Chargers let go on Tuesday, and he wasn't even the worst, believe it or not. The Chargers also fired offensive line coach Mike Devlin, who won't get the same headlines as Roman, but was a fundamental source of the offense's problems.
Chargers firing Mike Devlin was just as important as firing Greg Roman
The Chargers' offensive line has been woeful the last two seasons despite having arguably the best young tackle duo in the sport. Granted, that duo didn't play together at all in the 2025 season because of injuries, but the line play was still atrocious.
Los Angeles got mostly healthy seasons out of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater the year prior and the terrible offensive line play still showed up in the playoffs. The interior offensive line was as bad as it gets, and despite the woeful showing, the Chargers still ran it back with mostly the same unit in 2025.
The lone addition was Mekhi Becton, who was coming off a career year with the Eagles. While Becton definitely deserves part of the blame, it's important to note that he suffered massive regression with the Chargers in 2025.
Becton's regression highlighted the biggest issue with Devlin as the OL coach. There wasn't a single player who got better under Devlin. Whether it be late-round picks, free-agent signings, or trade additions, every offensive lineman either treaded water or got worse under Devlin.
The line was also terrible at recognizing and picking up blitz packages. The protection packages were consistently woeful for the Chargers, which is an indication of bad coaching on top of mismatched talent.
The Chargers will almost certainly have a new starting center in 2026, and they may also have a new starting left guard and right guard. Harbaugh clearly didn't trust Devlin to aid in the development of those players, whether it was getting up to speed with the elite tackles or developing as a rookie in the NFL.
Thus, the Chargers moved on and they will be better for it. Devlin may not get the same headlines as Roman, but his departure was necessary for the Chargers' long-term success.