REPORT: Raiders' Rival Struggling Under New Coach

The Las Vegas Raiders will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 this season. So far, the Chargers have been struggling through fall camp under Jim Harbaugh.

Jul 24, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks to the media after the first day of training camp at The Bolt. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

It was supposed to be a season of renewal for the Las Vegas Raiders' AFC West rival, the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers cleaned house, so to speak. They hired a new head coach in Jim Harbaugh. The hottest name on the market, fresh off a national championship victory with the University of Michigan.

A decorated NFL head coach 10 years ago, leading the San Fransisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance (that he'd lose to brother John and the Baltimore Ravens) and three consecutive NFC Championship games.

Harbaugh was aboard in January. He brought Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter with him from Ann Arbor. Drafted Wolverines star in Junior Colson in the 2024 NFL Draft. Harbaugh's influence on the Chargers was immediate and encompassing.

While the Chargers have yet to play their Week 1 matchup against the Raiders, who will bring a defense that has a case to be the NFL's finest, the sheen of the Harbaugh-centric offseason might be beginning to lose its luster.

Franchise quarterback Justin Herbert, centerpiece of the Great Harbaugh Revival, has been sidelined during fall camp. Easton Stick is the signal-caller for the time being.

So far, it has not looked good, wrote Fox Sports' Eric Williams. Stick's own reaction might be interpreted as lacking confidence.

"Once the ball is snapped, I can't play like Justin," Stick said. "There are very few people in the world that can do what Justin Herbert does. So after the ball is snapped, we're just playing."

Herbert will be in a boot for the next two weeks dealing with plantar fascia in his right foot. Without Herbert, the Chargers offense is struggling. Implementation and evaluation, two key aspects of fall camp, will be more difficult for new offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

According to Williams, Roman said, "He stayed with the foundational plays so his players could focus on executing fundamentals and fulfilling their assignments, allowing coaches to evaluate their play."

"We're not trying to manage scenarios," Roman recently told reporters. "Orchestrating sequences of events is coming. That's called the regular season. Right now, what we're trying to do is get great work in, evaluate some of the younger guys and really sharpen our tools."

The Chargers have two new starters at both wide receiver and tight end, along with two new running backs to fill the shoes of Austin Ekeler, and new offensive linemen at center and right tackle.

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