Does New Chargers Addition Represent Most Major Positional Improvement in Years?

Los Angeles has made some serious changes this offseason.

Sep 10, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Overall view of the Los Angeles Chargers bolt logo in the end zone at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Chargers made a variety of changes to their roster this offseason. The team pivoted from its top two wide receivers, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, in flipping the former and waiving the latter. L.A. also opted to not re-sign its best 2023 running back, Austin Ekeler, who left for the Washington Commanders as a free agent. The Bolts enjoyed a deep eight-man draft, prioritizing protection and a smashmouth approach to offense.

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But perhaps no move was more significant than the one that started it all this year: the hiring of one of the best coaches in college football, former Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, fresh off an undefeated championship run.

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Now, Travis Wakeman of The Sporting News opines that the upgrade from former head coach Brandon Staley to Harbaugh is one of the biggest improvements the team has made in recent seasons, at any position on or off the field (L.A. also brought in a new general manager, former Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz).

"Staley struggled in his time as the team's coach. He was on the sideline for one of the biggest collapses in playoff history in a 31-30 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2022 season. They led 27-0 in that game. It was all downhill from there," Wakeman writes. "But in Harbaugh, the Chargers know what they are getting. They are getting a head coach who has found success everywhere he's gone, whether it be college or the pros. They are getting a coach who has taken his team to the Super Bowl (and come within a play of winning it) and a coach who has also won the College Football National Championship."

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