The 2025–26 NFL season has officially come to an end. The Seattle Seahawks dominated Super Bowl LX, knocking off Drake Maye and the New England Patriots by a score of 29–13. While the defense and Kenneth Walker stole the show for much of the audience, one element stood out in particular and should leave a slightly sour taste in the mouths of Chargers fans everywhere.
Seattle’s special teams unit was lights out from start to finish, playing a major role in New England’s inability to generate any real offensive momentum. Not only did Jason Myers break the record for most field goals made in a Super Bowl, but punter Michael Dickson consistently pinned the Patriots inside the 10-yard line, and at times inside the 5, completely flipping field position.
Why does that matter to the Chargers? Seattle’s special teams coordinator is Jay Harbaugh, the son of Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
When Harbaugh was first hired, many fans clamored for him to avoid a nepotism hire and ensure Ryan Ficken remained on staff to lead special teams. Just two years later, the Chargers have dealt with ongoing special teams issues, while the Seahawks’ unit played a key role in their success all season and their dominance on the sport’s biggest stage.
In hindsight, the Chargers should have hired Jay Harbaugh
Ryan Ficken can point to injuries throughout the season as mitigating factors, but several decisions remain difficult to defend. Retaining JK Scott, keeping Rick Lovato while Josh Harris recovered from injury, and allowing the team to go an entire season without a true return specialist, outside of a brief stint with Nyheim Hines, are all inexcusable.
Meanwhile, Seattle featured a rock-solid punter in Michael Dickson, a record-breaking kicker in Jason Myers, excellent coverage units on punts and kickoffs, and one of the league’s most dangerous return specialists in Rashid Shaheed, whom they acquired at the deadline. It is hard not to believe Jay Harbaugh had a strong voice in that move to elevate his special teams unit.
Where could the Chargers have been with a special teams group this locked in? Does Ladd McConkey return the punt against Washington and flip that game, putting the Chargers in position to compete for the AFC West title? Are fans still forced to watch JK Scott consistently set opponents up with favorable field position in key moments? Does Rick Lovato continue snapping the ball into the dirt before ultimately retiring midseason? Does Nyheim Hines get more than a handful of opportunities, especially after breaking a big kickoff return against Miami, only to be released anyway?
Ficken made the choice to place all of his faith in Derius Davis. Even when healthy, Davis never seemed to have another gear to reach when the Chargers needed it most.
To Ficken’s credit, he inherited a special teams unit that no fan deserved to watch. Before his arrival, the group was a league-wide laughingstock. Still, Jim Harbaugh had an opportunity to bring in Jay Harbaugh and push the unit into its next phase. It would have been a difficult decision, and accusations of nepotism would have followed, especially given the goodwill Ficken earned early on.
But difficult decisions are part of the job for a CEO-style head coach like Jim Harbaugh. Where could the Chargers have been if that change had been made? That is a question fans may never get answered.