Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert and his Los Angeles Chargers are flying high with a 6-3 start to the 2024 season. First-year Charger coach Jim Harbaugh may be Justin Herbert’s biggest fan.

Harbaugh was on the microphone for Sunday’s win over the Titans and loved every second of Herbert’s performance.

There was no one in the world more excited to see Herbert and the Chargers dominate than Harbaugh. Listen. The atmosphere is impeccable.

Jim Harbaugh: “(Justin Herbert), part man, part beast”

Herbert’s new nickname ‘beast’ sounds nice.

Harbaugh and Herbert are changing the Chargers culture

The Los Angeles Chargers are a franchise that has been stuck in mediocrity for much of its existence since its founding in 1959. The Chargers have an all-time winning percentage of .497, which ranks 17th out of 32 NFL teams. They are known for ‘Chargering’ which simply means finding impossible ways to lose games. They are one of 12 franchises in the NFL without a Super Bowl victory.

When Justin Herbert was selected sixth overall by the Chargers in the 2020 NFL Draft, fans hoped he would be the one to take them to the promised land. Herbert has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL since he entered the league, but that hasn’t led to many wins.

In his first four seasons under center, the Chargers could muster just one playoff appearance, in 2022. That playoff run immediately ended in the wild-card round when the Chargers blew a 27-point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars. 2023 was an unmitigated disaster as they finished 5-12, last place in the AFC West and fired coach Brandon Staley. Enter Jim Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh changed the culture the day he walked through the door. Toughness, perseverance, faith and victory. All Harbaugh has done as a coach is establish a culture, get the most out of his players and win football games. He’s done it at every stop. Whether it was with the Stanford Cardinal, the San Francisco 49ers or the Michigan Wolverines.

Harbaugh took a modest Stanford program to heights it hadn’t seen since Bill Walsh coached in the 1990s. He turned the 6-10 49ers around to 13-3 and had them in three consecutive NFC Championship games. His last stop at Michigan ended with a national championship. Harbaugh had unfinished business in the NFL and won a super bowl, so he returned. He joined forces with promising young quarterback Herbert, and they hit it off.

Entering the season, the Chargers roster didn’t look great on paper. Even now, there aren’t many players who stand out other than Herbert and a few others on the defensive side of the ball. So how are they positioned to make the playoffs a year removed from a disastrous 5-12? That would be coaching.

Together, Harbaugh and Hebert have changed the outlook on Chargers football for now and the future. Sure, it may only be the first year of the Harbaugh/Herbert era, but you’d be crazy not to think this team can’t make it to playoff time come January.