Los Angeles Chargers Super Bowl Contenders? Experts Say Not in 2024, But Soon

The Los Angeles Chargers ‘ dramatic shakeup and subsequent rebuild has everyone wondering just how good this team will be in year one under Jim Harbaugh . In most of his coaching stops, he has successfully taken the team with a losing record and put them in contention to win the big game.

“This is Football” podcast asked that very question about this team; Can the Chargers win the Super Bowl in 2024? Host Kevin Clark and his two guests, Seth Galina of PFF and The Ringers Steven Ruiz shared their thoughts on how high Harbaugh can raise his newest turnaround challenge.

Experts Don’t Expect A Super Bowl in Year One for the Los Angeles Chargers, But Still Optimistic

“They’re going to be a lot better this year than people think. Now they can’t win the Super Bowl because they’re going to take the salary cap medicine.” Clark shared, “They’re going to have a couple years in the wilderness, all that stuff. I think they’re going to be in the Super Bowl pretty quickly, it’s just not going to be this year.”

Clark started the discussion about how we collectively as NFL observers are misremembering the strength of the roster Harbaugh took over in San Francisco, highlighting the importance of strong institutional control and quality coaching for football teams. Ruiz echoed that sentiment. The 49ers in Jim Harbaughs first season improved from a a 6-10 team to a 13-3 team and made the NFC Conference Championship Game.

“I think people discount the impact a coaching staff can have on [a team].” Ruiz reasons, “The offensive line has been the issue over the last couple years on offense, at least has been the inability to work around a bad offensive line. They’ve had one of the worst run success rates on first down over the last two years by EPA, yards per attempt, all that stuff. They performed poorly there and I think it that spilled over into third down when they couldn’t really protect because they were in third and long. More often teams could pin their ears back and get after them.

I think having a Greg Roman offense, I can’t believe I’m about to compliment Greg Roman, is is gonna solve a lot of those issues and having Jim Harbaugh there they’re gonna take the teeth out of the pass rush and I think that’s going to make Justin Herbert so much better even though the receiving core around him has gotten younger and worse.”

“What that coaching staff is about and why they are good. It’s not about what they’re doing on third down. It’s not about their scheme. It’s not that they have two safeties back deep. It’s the way they teach things. It’s the way they organize things. They’re going to have a professional defense and they’re going to have a professional offense. I don’t think we’ve been able to say that about them for the last 10 years.”

In Mr. Ruiz’s ranking, the Chargers were the last team he listed as a team that could win a playoff game. They are currently tied with the Cleveland Browns for the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl in the AFC at +4500, which is an implied odds of 2.2 percent chance of winning the big game, according to BetOnline.ag

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