Though the Los Angeles Chargers had an incredibly poor 2023 season that saw the team win only five games, leading to the dismissal of the general manager and the head coach, the team is a popular pick to turn things around in 2024.
The NFL is set up in such a way that a team can go from worst to first and become a serious contender from one season to the next. Look no further than last year's Houston Texans for a prime example of that.
The Chargers have had a few seasons in team history where they have gone from terrible to great in a calendar year, and many feel the team has the tools to do it again.
Los Angeles Chargers had a huge bounce-back year in 2004
The Chargers were led in 2004 by Marty Schottenheimer, an accomplished head coach. Despite going 4-12 in 2004, Schottenheimer was given another season to turn things around and he did just that. The Chargers went 12-4 in 2004, flipping their record.
But when thinking back to 2004, most Chargers fans likely recall that year's draft and how it ended much more than they remember the massive turnaround the team accomplished.
The Chargers were the worst team in the NFL in 2003. That led to them having the No. 1 overall pick in 2004, which was used on Eli Manning. After Manning stated that he would prefer not to play for the Chargers, his draft rights were traded to the New York Giants in exchange for the draft rights for Philip Rivers.
Is Jim Harbaugh the guy to turnaround the Chargers franchise? pic.twitter.com/D3i9q15Q4X
— PFF (@PFF) January 23, 2024
But the Chargers had another quarterback on the roster in 2004. Drew Brees led the team that season and was very good as the starting quarterback. He threw for over 3,100 yards with 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, making his first Pro Bowl.
The team's star running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, paced the team with 1,335 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. The Bolts had a tremendous offensive attack and at times, looked like one of the best teams in football.
Unfortunately, the season came to a crashing halt when the Chargers lost to the New York Jets, 20-17, in the Wild Card round.
Much of the hope for the 2024 season is placed around head coach Jim Harbaugh who, like Schottenheimer, is an accomplished coach who should get the arrow pointing in the right direction in a hurry. It's not hard to see what the Chargers are a trendy pick to turn things around, but can they duplicate what they did exactly 20 years ago?
