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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Yes, Jim Harbaugh is quirky, even weird some might say. And his reputation for being difficult is well known around the NFL. But during his media time here at the NFL annual meetings, it became apparent the more he talked as to why he’s considered one of the best coaches anywhere.
He gets it.
Harbaugh knows and stresses the basic and true fundamental of the game — being the most physical team on the field.
As he readies for his first season as coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, leaving behind a national-championship winning Michigan team to get back to the NFL, Harbaugh is once again bringing his football-bullying ways with him.
That philosophy was on full display as he was asked a question about his new offensive line. He went on a diatribe about what makes that position group what it is, which is essential to being a good football team. In an era of wide-open offenses, where most teams struggle to field a good offensive line, and the physical nature of the game isn’t what it used to be, Harbaugh relishes the opposite.
Here’s what he said about the offensive line:
“If I asked you the question of what position group depends on no other position group to be good, but every other position group depends on them to be good, what position group is that? The offensive line. The offensive line doesn’t need any other position group to be good, but every other position group relies on the offensive line to be good. The D-Line will be the ones to argue back, ‘we don’t need to the offensive line to be good.’ Do you like when the offense has a 12-play drive and field position? Building that kind of offensive line is exciting.”
That philosophy might seem counter-culture to having a big-time passer under center, which is exactly what Harbaugh will have in Justin Herbert. How he reconciles having one of the league’s best throwers of the football at quarterback against wanting to be a physical running team — the Harbaugh way — will be the first big test for him as the Chargers new coach.
At Michigan, he won a title last year with an offense that was run heavy, even though quarterback J.J. McCarthy has become the glamour boy of the NFL Draft to the point he will likely be a top-5 pick.
Yet to watch McCarthy on tape, it was clear he was a part of the offense, not the primary focus. In fact, some scouts say he was held back by the offense, but wasn’t he truly helped by it? By running the ball, it limited the pressure and it kept him out of obvious passing situations.
That’s going to be the same for Herbert. But you have to balance that notion even more when you have the type of quarterback Herbert is capable of being in the passing game.
It’s that balance that concerns me the most. At Stanford, Harbaugh had Andrew Luck and they were considered a power run team, even if Luck did throw 69 touchdown passes his last two seasons combined. His 404 attempts as a senior ranked seventh in the conference with the leader — Nick Foles at Arizona — throwing it 560 times. McCarthy was fifth in the Big 10 in passing attempts last season, 105 behind leader Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland.
Harbaugh did seem thrilled to have Herbert. He said they’ve talked a bunch and he can’t wait to get going with him in a few weeks.
“Just checking on him, seeing how things are going on the ranch up in Oregon (Herbert’s home),” Harbaugh said. “Talking about cadence, putting in the schemes, offense and defense. Justin’s been in. He’s gotten two workout in. Just that interaction. Just like hearing how his day is going.”
When Harbaugh was last in the NFL, coaching the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons from 2011-2015, the 49ers used his physical approach to go from a 6-10 team in 2010 to a Super Bowl contender that lost the Super Bowl in his second season. That 49ers team was definitely run heavy since they didn’t have a true franchise passer like Herbert. They built the offense around Colin Kaepernick, who was much more of threat running the football.
This offense will likely look more like what he had at Michigan with McCarthy, who Harbaugh, by the way, says is the best quarterback in the draft. He said McCarthy’s pro day last week was the best he’s ever seen. Then again, what else would you expect him to say?
That Michigan team had 18 players at the combine and could have all of them drafted. It was a stacked team, but one with many players who improved in a big way during their time at Michigan. That’s coaching. That’s Harbaugh.
It’s clearly something he loves to do. Throughout his morning session, he kept bringing up April 2.
“I’m excited about getting the players in the building,” Harbaugh said. “April 2. Can’t wait.”
The Chargers pick fifth in the first round of this year’s draft, which will give them a chance to add a big-time player or players to a team that needs help. They traded receiver Keenan Allen to the Bears and Mike Williams was released, leaving a big hole at the position. They could use the fifth pick on a receiver — maybe Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State — but that pick could also be of great value in terms of a potential trade.
There is a good chance quarterbacks could go off the board 1-2-3 and maybe even 1-2-3-4. If that happens, Harbaugh said that changes his pick.
“It becomes like the No. 1 pick in the draft,” he said. “If four quarterbacks go the first four picks, it’s like the No. 1 pick. Maybe the four quarterbacks don’t go in the first four, and there’s still a quarterback there at the fifth pick of the draft, and somebody (might trade). If we’re on the clock, we’re going to get a great player.”
It almost certainly won’t be an offensive lineman. They have four starters back, signed center Bradley Bozeman in free agency, and have some backups Harbaugh thinks can be starters. Receiver makes sense, but even if they were to take one like Harrison or Malik Nabers, don’t expect them to be a league leader in targets. That’s not the Harbaugh way.
His teams will be physical and will run it. They will be nasty up front on defense, something the Chargers have not been inside for a long time. They will make it tough to run on them and they will be the team wearing you down.
For all his quirkiness and reputation for being difficult, Harbaugh will be worth the millions the Chargers are paying him. He will make them a playoff team — and more he will do it soon. And he will do it with the most basic football fundamental of them all.
Brutality. Beat them up, leave them in the alley, and on to the next fight. That’s the Harbaugh way. That’s a winning way.
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