Chargers' Justin Herbert 'Fired Up' to Play for Jim Harbaugh: 'He Just Wants to Win'

Justin Herbert sounds like a quarterback finally ready to play for a coach with some job stability.

The Los Angeles Chargers star, who will be playing for his third head coach and fourth offensive coordinator in five seasons in 2024, told the Chasin' It podcast he's "fired up" to play for new coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Chargers lavished Harbaugh with a five-year, $80 million contract to coax him back to the NFL after a successful run at Michigan. Harbaugh went out on top at his alma mater, leading them to their first College Football Playoff championship

NFL teams have been attempting to bring Harbaugh back to the pro game for years. He was pushed out by the San Francisco 49ers after the 2014 season amid a falling out with then-general manager Trent Baalke, a decision the team quickly regretted. The 49ers went 44-19-1 in Harbaugh's four seasons and then won a combined 17 games over the four seasons after his departure.

Herbert, a bonafide franchise quarterback, played a large part in Harbaugh finally returning to the NFL. The 2020 NFL Rookie of the Year has put up stellar stats across his first four NFL seasons, but the Chargers have been undone by late-game collapses and questionable coaching.

Harbaugh and Herbert are now entrenched as the two franchise faces, with the coach bringing along offensive coordinator Greg Roman to run the offense. Roman was Harbaugh's offensive coordinator during his run in San Francisco and most recently worked under Jim's brother, John, as the Baltimore Ravens' OC from 2019-2022.

Given Roman's history, we should likely expect Herbert to throw the ball a little less in 2024, provided the Chargers land a quality running back in the draft or free agency.