The Los Angeles Chargers‘ Week 1 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders marked a seminal second within the relationship between quarterback Justin Herbert and coach Jim Harbaugh.
After the nationwide anthem ended, Harbaugh pounded Herbert’s shoulder pads together with his palms. Herbert, unprepared, tried to go for a hug, however Harbaugh continued the barrage of slaps and punches to Herbert’s pads.
The pad-punching stems from Harbaugh’s 14-year enjoying profession, a tip he discovered from Bears teammate and Corridor of Fame operating again Walter Payton to ease his nerves. Harbaugh has continued that ritual every sport and Herbert’s willingness to take part shocked some gamers.
“Justin has all the time hated cameras and issues the place he is the focus,” left deal with Rashawn Slater stated, “however I see him smiling when [Harbaugh] does it, so I am like, that should be an indication that he actually respects Coach.”
One of many hallmarks of Harbaugh’s teaching profession has been his relationships with the quarterbacks he has coached. From Josh Johnson on the College of San Diego to Colin Kaepernick with the San Francisco 49ers, Harbaugh has helped elevate the quarterbacks of his groups. However his relationship with Herbert is totally different. Harbaugh has been enamored with the 26-year-old Herbert since he took the job, fascinated by Herbert’s measurement, intelligence and even his garments.
Herbert, usually reserved and deflective of public reward, seems to have stepped exterior his consolation zone to embrace Harbaugh.
“He is a man that everybody needs to observe and play for,” Herbert stated.
It is a relationship that shall be essential to a Chargers franchise that expects to contend for the group’s first Tremendous Bowl on the backs of Harbaugh and Herbert. The outcomes on the sphere have fluctuated by six weeks, with Herbert recording profession lows in nearly each passing class, for the 3-2 Chargers forward of “Monday Evening Soccer” towards the Arizona Cardinals (8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
“It’s a little little bit of a bromance,” tight finish Hayden Hurst stated. “I believe Jim needs to essentially emulate Justin. He is bought all of the bodily traits that Jim stated he does not have, so it is sort of humorous. I believe they complement one another nicely.”
Like many gamers, Herbert typically provides his teammates high-fives and slaps their helmets as they arrive off the sphere after large performs. However Harbaugh advised Herbert earlier this season that that ritual wanted to finish.
“He stated not with the fitting hand,” Herbert stated. “I can do high-fives with the left hand.”
Harbaugh needs Herbert to guard the franchise’s most dear hand. A fractured proper index finger ended Herbert’s season in Week 14 final 12 months, and the Chargers went winless in that span, so Harbaugh’s logic is sound. Nonetheless, that interplay admittedly made exterior linebacker Joey Bosa jealous.
“What about me? My fingers are already so destroyed. It does not even matter,” Bosa joked. “However no, [Harbaugh] treats him how he ought to deal with him, and I believe their relationship is enjoyable to look at.”
That relationship can typically appear to be Harbaugh mimicking Herbert in the way in which a youthful brother would possibly with an older one. Harbaugh stated he needs to be finest associates with Herbert, and that “for those who don’t love — you do not love — Justin Herbert, there’s one thing unsuitable with you.”
On the similar information convention, Harbaugh stated he’d begun sporting the identical Nike sneakers as Herbert, asking the tools employees to get him a pair of “these Justin Herbert” footwear. He stepped to the left of the rostrum to point out reporters the white and black sneakers.
That admiration extends to different areas, like in a group assembly earlier this season when Herbert started doing calf raises and Harbaugh adopted go well with. “Jim’s wanting him up and down and began doing calf raises, too,” Hurst stated whereas hysterically laughing.
Harbaugh performed quarterback for 14 years within the NFL however by no means had Herbert’s passing potential; it is one of many the reason why he admires Herbert. Harbaugh advised reporters that if he had the selection of genes to commerce with Herbert throughout his enjoying profession, Herbert’s arm expertise can be on the prime of the record. Harbaugh additionally as soon as stated he started teaching backup quarterbacks Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke in another way as a result of Herbert is “unreplicable.”
On the sphere, the connection hasn’t yielded overwhelming success for Herbert. Actually, Herbert is off to the worst statistical begin of his profession. For all of Harbaugh’s affection for Herbert, offensive coordinator Greg Roman has employed Herbert’s arm lower than prior coaches.
“If we throw 500 occasions or 50 occasions, we simply must be executing as an offense,” Herbert stated. “Selfishly, I like to throw the soccer, however I need to get this offense to be as finest as we will and what that appears like modifications from week to week.”
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Via six video games, Herbert has profession lows in passing yards (815), makes an attempt (125) and completions (80). A few of his statistical drop-off may very well be attributed to Herbert coping with a excessive proper ankle sprain since Week 2 of this season, however the offense hasn’t leaned on Herbert the way in which coordinators have in earlier years. He entered this season averaging essentially the most passing makes an attempt per sport in NFL historical past (39.1).
The offensive technique shifted, nonetheless, within the Chargers’ Week 6 win over the Denver Broncos.
Herbert seemed like his previous self, ending with season-highs in passing yards (237), completions (21) and makes an attempt (34) whereas throwing for a landing.
“Hopefully, this reminds all people that Justin Herbert’s actually good at enjoying quarterback,” Harbaugh stated.
It was one other second the place Harbaugh was utilizing a information convention to go with Herbert — a technique he is used his whole profession to construct confidence in his quarterbacks.
On the league conferences in March, there have been many subjects that Harbaugh needed to tackle publicly for the primary time since taking the teaching job; chief amongst them was the choice to commerce longtime Charger Keenan Allen.
However that day, Harbaugh made waves for his reward of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who performed beneath Harbaugh on the College of Michigan and was anticipated to be a first-round decide. Harbaugh referred to as McCarthy the most effective quarterback within the draft and stated McCarthy had the most effective throwing professional day he’d ever seen.
Harbaugh’s public infatuation with McCarthy raised questions on whether or not Harbaugh can be prepared to commerce Herbert, with a number of groups reaching out to the Chargers to inquire a couple of commerce. These calls have been rapidly shot down by common supervisor Joe Hortiz, who already knew greater than most how a lot Harbaugh admired Herbert.
Since Harbaugh started as a head coach 20 years in the past on the College of San Diego, his vocal admiration for quarterbacks who’ve performed for him has been instinctual. That a lot was evident after Harbaugh needed to briefly go away the Chargers’ Week 6 sport towards the Broncos with an irregular heartbeat. After the sport, Harbaugh mirrored on the final time he felt related discomfort, which he stated was throughout a 2012 sport when he coached the 49ers. He rapidly talked about Kaepernick. “Colin had an excellent evening that evening,” he stated as an apart earlier than describing a medical process he had following that sport.
In Harbaugh’s second season at USD, he began quarterback Josh Johnson, a sophomore from Oakland, California, who was uncertain about his soccer future. Harbaugh modified that.
Johnson had the most effective careers in Toreros historical past. He nonetheless holds college information for profession effectivity ranking (176.7), completion share (.679), and landing passes in a season (43). Johnson has performed within the NFL since 2008 and is now a Baltimore Raven enjoying for Jim’s brother, John Harbaugh. Johnson credit his prolonged NFL profession to Jim Harbaugh’s affect.
“It was life-changing for me to play for him,” Johnson stated. “He instilled a whole lot of confidence in me. He was the primary person who advised me, with conviction, ‘You are going to play within the NFL.’ Even earlier than I believed it, he believed it.”
Harbaugh’s constant public reward is paired with a mild and affected person method to teaching the place, which gamers say is uncommon. It has been a novel expertise for Heinicke, who has been with the group for lower than two months. He was shocked at Harbaugh’s comparatively calm method to errors, juxtaposing it to his expertise enjoying beneath Norv Turner, the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers when Heinicke performed in each spots.
Heinicke stated Turner is certainly one of his favourite coaches of all time, however he was “terrified” of Turner due to the way in which he disciplined him and different quarterbacks for making errors. “I nonetheless have nightmares about him a bit bit,” Heinicke stated.
“Harbaugh’s positively extra encouraging than different guys I have been round,” he stated.
It was an analogous expertise for Stick, who has been with the Chargers since 2019, backing up Herbert by three totally different coaches. Stick stated that Harbaugh’s expertise enjoying quarterback frames his method, making him extra affected person than different coaches.
Nonetheless, Heinicke and Stick each stated Harbaugh’s course of and relationship is particular with Herbert.
“There’s positively a love there and a respect there that is fairly distinctive,” Stick stated with a smile.
NFL reporter Jamison Hensley contributed to this story.
