Justin Herbert's comments may spell the end of Joe Lombardi's Chargers career

The LA Chargers suffered perhaps the worst loss in franchise history in the Wild Card Round, blowing a 27-0 first-half lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Naturally, Brandon Staley's job security became the no. 1 topic of discussion with a fanbase that was already not his biggest fan.

As the dust has settled a day later it seems less likely that the Chargers will fire Staley, although it certainly is still possible. Even if Staley sticks around, there has to be some kind of change after this devastating playoff loss.

If the change isn't firing Staley then the next move that the fanbase wants to see is Joe Lombardi being fired. Lombardi has failed to maximize the fact that he has a humanoid playing quarterback and the playoff loss was a prime example of that. It literally seems impossible to blow a four-touchdown lead when you have Justin Herbert under center.

While Staley's job security may have increased, Lombardi's has seemingly gone down. When asked if he trusts this coaching staff, Herbert made sure to express his full faith in his head coach — leaving out Lombardi's name altogether.

Justin Herbert leaves out Joe Lombardi when asked about Chargers coaching staff.

Justin Herbert is not the type of person to purposefully leave breadcrumbs as some sort of subtle shot at Lombardi. There is a zero percent chance that someone as humble as Herbert would intentionally leave Lombardi's name out as a way to send a message to him.

That being said, the fact that Lombardi was not mentioned at all could still mean something if we are reading between the lines. It is not a controversial take to say that the offense has been much worse than it should have been this season and Herbert had to know that in the back of his mind as well.

If the Chargers are not going to bring change at head coach they absolutely have to make changes at one, if not both, coordinator positions. Perhaps those inside the building already know of a potential change coming, which could explain why Herbert's own offensive coordinator was not mentioned.

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It would be incredibly shocking (and very disappointing) if Lombardi is the Chargers' offensive coordinator at the start of the 2023 season. It would be extremely hard for the fanbase to get excited for the season as it has in recent years.