The Los Angeles Chargers’ faithful is still buzzing about the addition of Jim Harbaugh as head coach, and Greg Roman has a chance to be the team’s best offensive coordinator in years. Roman is the new Chargers offensive coordinator who helped take the 49ers to the Super Bowl with Harbaugh serving as captain of the ship.
Now, news has broken about Roman’s plans for the Chargers’ Justin Herbert-led offense, and it’s not quite what fans might have expected.
The Chargers’ latest schematic news was accompanied by a report about another new Harbaugh hire. Running back Austin Ekeler is likely to be the centerpiece of the Chargers’ new look offense, but he could be headed for an AFC contender if he doesn’t end up returning.
Roman Dishes on Chargers’ Plans
Roman envisioned a scenario in which the Chargers star quarterback didn’t have to carry the load on his shoulders nearly as much.
“Can you imagine Justin Herbert with a great running game?” Roman said to ESPN.com.
“We don’t know, but I can imagine what it might look like. So that’s kind of the vision.”
Chargers Must Improve in Key Area
Star running back Austin Ekeler finished with just 3.5 yards per carry last season.
That won’t cut it if Coach Harbaugh and Coach Roman’s team have aspirations of making it to the playoffs.
“I think in this league, you can really, really help dictate the defenses if you have a strong running attack,” Roman said. “If you really talk to most defensive coordinators in this league and got ’em off to the side when they’re playing a really good running team, they’re sweating a little bit. They’re sleeping a little less that week.”
Fans could see something similar to the 49ers’ rushing under Colin Kaepernick, or perhaps the 2024 National Champion Michigan Wolverines with a more diverse array of running game sets, if Roman’s comments are any indication. Both the running and passing games should be affected.
“It’s going to be a little different,” Roman said. “I think you’re going to see probably a multiple running game. You’ll probably see the use of motions and shifting, and then you’ll see a pretty diverse passing game.”
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