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Kris Rhim
LOS ANGELES — This time last year, there was palpable excitement surrounding the Los Angeles Chargers. In a city with stars like Shohei Ohtani and LeBron James, the Chargers seemed to have found theirs in hiring coach Jim Harbaugh.
Many players described the Harbaugh experience in their news conferences and lauded the culture he was cultivating. Harbaugh’s famous face was plastered across L.A., and fans seemed to scream at practices for his autograph before those of any player.
A year later, with the Chargers fresh off a playoff appearance and an 11-win season, that bubbly excitement of last year has shifted.
It isn’t that Harbaugh’s aura has worn off, but the Chargers are aware of the standard they set last year and the painful way the year ended — with a 32-12 playoff trouncing by the Houston Texans. The fascination and excitement of their new coach has faded — the stories of their best moments with him are few and far between — yet these Chargers seem more determined.
“I feel like last year kind of set the floor for this group,” said safety Derwin James Jr. “I feel like last year no one expected us to go that far. … I feel like we got everything we need to do what we need to do.”
Here are three takeaways from Jim Harbaugh’s second offseason with the Chargers:
Justin Herbert is excited about the Chargers’ offense
Last season, the offense was the Chargers’ biggest weakness for the first time in Herbert’s career. With a new coterie of unproven pass catchers and an inconsistent offensive line, L.A.’s offense struggled all season. Through the first four weeks, Herbert had the fewest passing yards (578), completions (59), and pass attempts (91) in any four-game span of his career.
The lone bright spot was the connection Herbert built with now second-year receiver Ladd McConkey, who broke Chargers rookie receiving (1,149) and receptions (82) records last year. But the passing offense beyond McConkey was abysmal.
The Chargers invested heavily into pass catchers this offseason to mitigate their issues, drafting wide receivers Tre’ Harris, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and tight end Oronde Gadsden II. Perhaps the most significant addition was wide receiver Mike Williams, who played for the Chargers for seven seasons before spending last year with the Jets and Steelers. Williams is one of Herbert’s favorite targets.
“He’s one of those guys that changes the way he plays football when he’s on your team,” Herbert said. “50-50 balls are not quite 50-50, as we’ve seen with Mike. You need a play — a big-time play — he’s going to go up and make it.”
With Greg Roman back for a second season, it’ll be just the second time in Herbert’s career that he has consecutively had the same offensive coordinator. While the offense was far from perfect last season, Herbert feels that it’ll be much improved.
“I think we’ve made great strides this offseason,” Herbert said. “… We’re far ahead of where we were last year.”
A big year expected for linebacker Daiyan Henley
Henley, a third-round pick in 2023 who played mainly on special teams as a rookie, had a breakout season in 2024, where he emerged as one of the most important players in the Chargers’ defense. Henley finished eighth in the NFL in total tackles (147) while playing through a torn labrum he suffered in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In Year 3, many players and coaches expect Henley to become one of the league’s best linebackers.
“All-Pro,” James said of his expectations of Henley this season. “I push him every day. I tell him, ‘If a tight end catch the ball on you. It’s not good.’ … I want him to do everything because I feel like he has a ceiling where he can be All-Pro, not just Pro Bowl, but an All-Pro player.”
Henley spent much of the Chargers’ offseason activities doing drills with James and outside linebacker Khalil Mack, working on pass rush technique and coverage skills.
“I think the biggest thing about expectations like that is that they have to start within,” Henley said. “It’s not something that people should bestow upon you. You have to want that for yourself to go get it. And that’s always been my goals and aspirations is to be that type of guy.”
Everyone’s grateful Khalil Mack is back
Mack, 34, was an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career last season and mulled retirement after the Chargers playoff loss. In March, Mack re-signed with the Chargers on a team-friendly one-year $18 million contract despite talking with other teams.
Perhaps no one was happier about Mack’s return than defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
“It means everything. Khalil is one of the best ever to do it, but really just the type of person he is, the type of leadership that he brings,” Minter said. “… I have great appreciation for how he operates. I take things from him every day.”
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The second-happiest person in the building might’ve been James, who began recruiting Mack for the 2025 season during his final news conference in January.
“He means everything,” James said. ” I was begging and pleading to get him back. I actually hit him up to get him back. I was just so excited when he came back. For him to come back like that, I knew he really loves us, man, and he really wanted a shot at it again.”
Mack said he returned to the Chargers because of his lifelong dream of winning a Super Bowl. He has yet to win a playoff game in his career, but he said he believes he can win a Super Bowl in L.A.
“Why not here, man?” Mack said.
