A headlining new head coach and promising new front office does not change the fact Justin Herbert is the foundation the entire LA Chargers are built on. The Chargers will go as far as Herbert takes them as he is the main reason why this team has Super Bowl aspirations in the near future.
Jim Harbaugh knows how special Hebert is and he is doing everything in his power to make his life easier. Los Angeles used the fifth overall pick on the best tackle in the draft, Notre Dame's Joe Alt, while the team also used the offseason to build up what was an awful run game.
It extends to the coaching staff as well. As Harbaugh was building out his staff he made a pointed hire, bringing back former quarterbacks coach Shane Day to re-assume his duties with Herbert. Day and Herbert had a great relationship his first time coaching the team and during minicamps on Wednesday, Herbert confirmed he was directly asked for his input for the quarterbacks coach.
Justin Herbert confirms he was asked about the QB coach position and that Shane Day was his "#1 guy" for the job.
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) June 13, 2024
Justin Herbert confirming he wanted Shane Day is an awful look for Brandon Staley
Yes, the past is in the past but the more fans hear about this new coaching staff the more they are reminded of how bad the team had it before. First, it was Khalil Mack, who did not pull any punches when comparing this coaching staff to last season's even though he was Staley's guy.
Now, it is Herbert confirming Day was his No. 1 choice to be the quarterbacks coach this season. Obviously, Herbert and Day had a close-knit relationship, which makes it look even worse in hindsight that Staley canned him after the 2021 season.
To be fair, the Chargers had to change something offensively as Joe Lombardi's offense just wasn't working. It is common for position coaches to be let go along with an offensive coordinator, especially when a head coach is trying to bring in a new visionary like Kellen More.
That being said, every situation is different and Staley should have at least put some stock into what his franchise quarterback thinks. Herbert does not need his No. 1 QB coach to be successful but it certainly would help! Staley not realizing this only proves that he really didn't have a grip on this locke room.
Making matters more frustrating is the fact that Herbert still needed to sign an extension when all of this happened. Thankfully, Herbert is not the vindicative type and quarterbacks tend to just sign massive extensions with the team that drafted them.
But if Herbert had a different personality it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibilities for him to take this personally and let it factor into his decision around the future. The Chargers are lucky that he didn't go down that path, especially now that the franchise has completely wiped its hands of Staley.
At the end of the day, Herbert got his guy back as Day is back in the building ready to pick up right where he left off. All it took was Harbaugh actually having a feel and asking his quarterback what he wanted... something Staley obviously didn't do.