Matt Smith Says Joe Hortiz Also Provides “Tough” Culture Change for Chargers
One of the biggest elements of Jim Harbaugh becoming the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers is toughness. Every team that Harbaugh has joined has immediately become far more physical.
While Harbaugh's coaching style is well-known, its new general manager Joe Hortiz can also bring in the same element when it comes to drafting rookies and signing free agents. That is exactly what Matt "Money" Smith and Lorenzo Neal discussed on Bleav in Chargers.
"You can talk about creating culture as a head coach. Right. I need to change the culture. Jim Harbaugh is here. We need a culture of toughness, is what we need here with the Chargers. That goes for the front office guys. We have not been bringing in enough guys every single week."
via Matt Smith, Bleav in Chargers
The Chargers may have been a bit too quiet on the free agency front, especially with the myriad of injuries that took place this season.
"They're businessmen, so they work. They rely on their GM to make sure that they're making those right decisions. But they want to go on to communicate, 'Hey, we're doing this, okay? Why? We're doing it. Okay. Let me write the check. Let's see.' Now you have a guy in Joe that can be like. 'Hey, Harbaugh. I understand what you want, this guy, but we're going to go with him because I'm thinking long-term. We're going to build this with way because I want to have a team that has that sustainability."
via Lorenzo Neal
It's important to have collaboration, but it's also up to Hortiz to ensure that he is making the right decisions alongside Harbaugh. If they bring in players and that player does not work out, it's up to them to get the right players in that will work out.
Hortiz and Harbaugh are two of the biggest hires the Chargers have had, and the culture change they are planning to instill will hopefully bring the team out of the AFC basement.
