Whenever an NFL team hires a new head coach, there is always going to be a lot of optimism. A team never knows quite what it will get with its new choice, but plenty of hope follows the hire.
This offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers created the biggest upgrade at the head coach spot in recent memory and it might be the best in NFL history. To go from Brandon Staley to Jim Harbaugh is nothing short of outstanding.
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.
Staley to Harbaugh might be the biggest coaching upgrade in NFL history
Statements like this are always going to be opinion-based. But considering what we do know, there is a great argument for this.
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.
Staley was the coach who continuously chose to go for it in questionable fourth-down situations and the one who made mystifying remarks during post-game press conferences.
Last season, when the Chargers fell to 5-12, that can be placed almost entirely on the desk of Staley. The Chargers were much better than a 5-win team, but they quit on their head coach who was dismissed before the season even finished.
Now Harbaugh comes in with much of the same pieces ready to create an instant contender. Is there any reason to believe he won't be successful in doing so?
