Jim Harbaugh continues to say what Chargers fans don't want to hear

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh joined the Chargers Weekly podcast for an appearance. He was asked about the state of the offensive line coming together in the offseason process. In his answer, Harbaugh alluded to an offensive lineman pairing that fans were hoping to avoid.

First, Harbaugh noted that he was excited to have left tackle Rashawn Slater back in the building. Slater missed OTAs for the first time in his career before attending mandatory minicamp.

Harbaugh then talked up right tackle Joe Alt as someone that's "ascending as much as any player on our team". With Mekhi Becton's presence, Harbaugh noted that they'll likely be a "right-handed" offensive line with the size they have on the right side.

The big question of the offseason however, is what happens along the interior. There's been a public center battle between Zion Johnson and Bradley Bozeman that's been known since March. GM Joe Hortiz first mentioned the possibility of Johnson playing center at the NFL combine.

Harbaugh talked about Johnson as an ascending player in a similar vein to how he discussed Alt. The Chargers' head coach said that Johnson's ability to climb to the second level and pull from the center position was "different".

Perhaps the most decisive line of the interview is Harbaugh essentially saying the center competition will have one of two outcomes:

Jim Harbaugh's comments on Chargers offensive line give fans pause

"The versatility we now have," Harbaugh started. "Maybe the combination is going to be better with Zion at center and Boze at guard. But if it's not, we know we have a great combination with Boze at center and Zion at guard. So we feel like we're in a really good place."

Previously, Harbaugh said he'd like to see the competition settled 8-10 days into July's training camp. For now, we're still a decent way away from that deadline.

While fans may have hoped for alternative options during the offseason, Harbaugh and Hortiz continue to beat the same drum they have since March. For at least the 2025 campaign, they feel good enough to run Johnson and Bozeman back on the interior with the addition of Becton.

Which spots they'll be in remains to be seen, but they're clearly not moving forward with other depth pieces such as Andre James or Jamaree Salyer under any real consideration to start.