Jim Harbaugh explains why Chargers are way ahead of schedule in 2025 already

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t pulling any punches this week as rookies got to work. 

Harbaugh hit on a wide range of topics in interviews, but perhaps the most interesting was suggesting that this version of the Chargers is far, far ahead of last year’s squad. 

Understandable, considering this is Year 2 of the Jim Harbaugh experience in LA. 

"Just love the way guys are moving around," Harbaugh said, according to Omar Navarro of Chargers.com. "It looks really good. We picked up too, in a lot of ways, where we left off compared to last year when we were first starting and we were installing some systems.”

Harbaugh added this: "Defensively, it's like we just played the Texans. That's where we are system-wise. Now we're there and building. Same with the offense."

While it makes sense, it’s also interesting to consider just how much roster churn the Chargers underwent this offseason, too. 

Harbaugh and Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz, after all, added nine new draft picks, a variety of free agents and nearly 20 undrafted free agents while reformulating the roster more to their liking again. 

Like Harbaugh says, though, the advantage compared to last year is that the coaching staff gets to build on the previous year of systems and the returning players aren’t learning everything from scratch. 

And if last year’s on-the-fly chaos still produced that playoff berth, Chargers fans should feel more encouraged than usual about Harbaugh’s comments here.