How Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman Built a Playoff Machine Around Justin Herbert
From the Worst Collapse to a New Era: Justin Herbert’s Playoff Redemption Begins
Justin Herbert is stepping back into the playoff spotlight, but this time, he’s armed with the tools to rewrite his legacy.
Herbert leads the Chargers into Houston to take on the Texans in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs on Saturday afternoon looking not just to guide Los Angeles to the divisional round but to slam the door shut once and for all on an organizational reputation he is saddled with when it comes to coming up small in the biggest games.
The last time Herbert and the Chargers were on the postseason stage, the wunderkind quarterback was on the wrong side of the largest comeback in postseason history, as the Jaguars systematically overcame a 27-point deficit to send Los Angeles packing.
“Chargering” became a verb that evening in Duuuuuuuval.
Herbert completed just 58.1 percent of his passes for 273 yards, one touchdown, and a pedestrian 84.7 passer rating that night, his own reputation as an emerging superstar tarnished as an early nail was driven into former head coach Bradon Staley’s coffin 11 months before his eventual firing.
That was then, this is now.
“They’re going to win,” former Chargers defensive end Sebastian Joseph-Day, tells me. He practiced against Herbert every day for the better part of two seasons before spending the past 1.5 years with the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans.
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What’s changed for Herbert this season?
Enter Jim Harbaugh, whose arrival as head coach has not only brought a hyperphysical culture to the Chargers but also the stability and offensive philosophy that Herbert has lacked for much of his career.
Harbaugh’s offense, built around a power running game that punishes opposing front sevens and gets downhill in a hurry, allowed Herbert to thrive while attempting the second-fewest passing attempts to date in his career.
Former NFL tight end Jake Butt, who played for Harbaugh at the University of Michigan, believed from the start of the season that Harbaugh’s approach was exactly what Herbert needed to unlock his full potential.
"Justin Herbert is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL," Butt told me back in August. "He's first in a number of passing stats of guys since he came into the league. This guy's extremely talented. Most people, the plan for a lot of people, it's a surface-level plan; 'We have a good quarterback, let's surround him with good weapons.'
"I look at Tom Brady, why he was so successful, the Chiefs in 2023 were a great example of this, team identity is what 80 percent of it is, and your quarterback is going to win you those close games late. But, you've got to give him the chance. Jim builds from the inside out; 'let's build an elite offensive line to protect Herbert, let's build an elite offensive line so we can run the ball and get physical. The whole league is going towards passing, so let's run the ball. That will be our niche.’ Off of that, they have a quarterback who can do everything he needs to do throwing it 45 times per game, but now we're going to get him in play-action situations with extremely clear pictures, much easier reads, that's going to get him comfortable, and we're going to pick and choose when we want Justin Herbert to throw the ball 40 times per game and make those tough throws."
This philosophy aligns perfectly with the results seen in Herbert’s efficient performance this season, from his career-low interceptions to the Chargers' dominance in the ground game under Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
The results speak for themselves.
Herbert finished the season completing 65.9 percent of his 504 passing attempts for 3,870 yards with 23 touchdowns to a career-low three interceptions.
As a team this season, the Chargers improved their points per game to 23.2, compared to 20.4 under Brandon Staley. On third-down conversions, a critical area for sustaining drives, the Chargers now sit at 40.27, a significant leap from 38.4 in 2023.
These numbers reflect not just Harbaugh’s emphasis on efficiency but the impact of Roman’s system, which utilizes Herbert’s skill set while leaning on a punishing ground attack to set up big plays.
“He’s truly taking over games right now,” Joseph-Day tells me. “Feels like he’s been using his legs more than usual, which makes him even more dangerous.”
Buoyed by the pressure the Chargers’ ground game puts on opposing defenses, Herbert rushed for a career-high 306 yards and two touchdowns this season.
Finally freed from the pressure of carrying the offense— and the totality of the franchise’s hopes on his shoulders, Herbert had one of the most efficient seasons of his career.
“I would say the biggest difference for Justin Herbert this season,” former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels told me recently. “Is the offensive coaching philosophy and the head coaching philosophy.
“Quarterbacks seem to play better when they are coached by a head coach or offensive coordinator that was a former quarterback in the NFL; Gary Kubiak, Jim Harbaugh, or someone in the Shanahan or Kubiak coaching trees.”
In addition to Harbaugh’s presence as a quarterback-whisperer, Herbert also has the benefit of playing for offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who helped guide Colin Kaepernick into becoming a Super Bowl quarterback, was influential in Lamar Jackson’s development, and runs a gap-heavy scheme that utilizes the Chargers’ running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to set Herbert up to take big shots in the vertical passing game.
“Their system allows Justin to throw from the pocket like traditional football,” an AFC scouting Director tells me, of the Chargers’ system, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about another team.
Harbaugh also brings an element of stability that Herbert has lacked through much of his career.
During his time at Oregon, Herbert played under three different head coaches, including adapting from a spread offense to Mario Christobal’s pistol formation. Then, defensive-minded Brandon Staley went through two different offensive coordinators in Herbert’s first three NFL seasons.
Roman has imported a lot of the concepts he excelled at with the Ravens into the Chargers’ system this year.
“They max protect at times and allow him to use his arm talent while protected,” the executive points out. “Also uses play action and the running game to keep rushers off balance against him.
“Before Harbaugh and Roman got there, he was getting hit too much just like most of these read-option wide open offenses. Sounds good to have five in a route but only five blocking, but your quarterback more often than not winds up getting clobbered.”
The Chargers won 11 during the 2024 campaign, and even though he hasn’t been asked to sling it up and down the yard en route to those victories, Herbert clearly understands the assignment, and what’s at stake, in Houston.
"I think our whole purpose as this team is to win games," Herbert told reporters this week. "We got to take it one game at a time. We've got a very good opponent that we're playing on Saturday.
"For us, we have to have our focus, dial in all week and have a great week of preparation. We really do take it one week at a time and that would mean everything to us."
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Jim and John are influenced by Jack and Jack is “old school”. What is “old school” you ask?
Football is a violent sport played by men with both anger and athleticism. The object is to advance the ball on one side and deliver punishment for doing so on the other. With rare exceptions the winning side was more physical, had better preparation, made better in-game adjustments and less mistakes than the loser. Those that continue to lose have inferior personnel and leadership. The Harbaugh family tree is about toughness, preparation, instincts and belief. If these guys were in a different conference we’d likely see a Championship Harbowl Superbowl at the end of each season.