The Chargers are off to a historically bad start under Jim Harbaugh. It's the first time he's ever been 0-4. 2026 is the first time they've been winless in the first month since 2017. A loss on Sunday to reach 0-5 vs. Denver would be their worst start in 23 years.
Their offense is near the bottom of the league. Justin Herbert has regressed into playing some of his worst football. OC Mike McDaniel has been a failed experiment through four games. The offensive line was a mess before injuries. Oh, their special teams is bottom of the league also. And yet, HC Jim Harbaugh thinks it's an "insult" to question him.
It shouldn't be an insult to expect more than the bare minimum from the Chargers in year three of Harbaugh/Hortiz.
Asked why QB Justin Herbert has to play "hero ball" 2.5 years into Harbaugh's tenure for the Chargers despite the coaching staff consistently saying the plan is for circumstances to be more ideal, Harbaugh said this:
"Yeah, that just sounds more like an insult than it does a question, but if that's the way you look at it. I'm saying that it's the kind of competitor that he is where I've never seen him flinch. I've never seen him rattled. He's an amazing inspiration and that's what we do. We all feed off of that. I know the entire team does. And you ask me what gives me optimism, what gives me hope with this football team, because I see that throughout the entire team. And yeah, we attack, we improve, can't improve everything all at once, but we can improve one thing at a time, all the time. And that's what this team is doing"
Of course Harbaugh isn't going to get up on the podium and sling stones at the parties responsible. But telling a member of the media that questions about protecting Herbert are insulting is over the line. The Chargers have ranked as one of the worst offensive lines under Harbaugh/Hortiz, year in and year out. PFF ranked them at 30th in their OL rankings last year and they're 26th in pass protection composite so far this season.
There is of course the injury to Tyler Biadasz to mention. Or the recent Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt injuries vs. Seattle. But their first OL move in free agency was to sign Cole Strange-a move that most knew was a disaster the moment it happened. Would the offensive line look better if it wasn't as injured? Possibly, but the team didn't invest quality assets into their interior offensive line again and it looks that way. They don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
The neglect for Herbert's protection in the Harbaugh era can be applied to other areas of the team. They're currently 29th in special teams EPA under STC Ryan Ficken. They're 31st in offensive EPA under Mike McDaniel. It's a team that's 0-4 because they've been poorly coached in most aspects. They're 4th in most penalties per game at just over 9. Justin Herbert has regressed to the worst standing of his career statistically at 29th in QB EPA with a 6.3% turnover worthy play rate.
I could keep going—but if you ask Harbaugh about any of these things, he'll just say it's an insult.
Most aspects of the team are failing. And if you went back in time and told Chargers fans that there would still be no playoff success under Harbaugh by 2027, they wouldn't accept that. At his very first press conference, he suggested that the goal was to win multiple Super Bowls.
Harbaugh is unlikely to be fired with his name brand and $32 million remaining on his contract after this season. But if his name wasn't Jim Harbaugh, he wouldn't be getting nearly as much benefit of the doubt as he has to this point.
This isn't a request to fire Harbaugh. But it is a request for the Los Angeles head coach to try looking inward for reasons the team is failing as opposed to being "insulted" by the media.
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