Analyst's stern warning to Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert won't shock Chargers fans

When the Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh to be their head coach last year, hype understandably ensued. Not only is Harbaugh always good for an amazing quote, but he had already experienced considerable success as a coach on the NFL level.

Throw in the fact that Justin Herbert was at quarterback for the Chargers, and you could totally see why many had Los Angeles—for all of its faults—pegged as a sleeper in the AFC.

Well, the Chargers ultimately won 11 games and made the playoffs, and while they fell to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round, it was actually a very impressive campaign overall for an LA squad that had gone just 5-12 the season prior.

However, the Chargers have never won a Super Bowl, so it shouldn't be surprising to anyone that Bleacher Report's Mitch Milani has labeled them one of the eight teams most desperate for one heading into 2025, and Milani sent a rather stern warning to Harbaugh and Herbert in the process.

"The Harbaugh hype, the Herbert hype. It needs to be justified with a championship," Milani urged.

Milani has a point. For all of the props that Harbaugh receives, he has never won a title. He did lead the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance back during the 2012-13 campaign, only to watch his club get smoked by the Baltimore Ravens.

Also, Herbert may be one of the league's most talented passers, but his playoff track record is, well, wholly unimpressive. In two career playoff starts, Herbert has thrown two touchdowns and four interceptions while completing just 52 percent of his passes, and he blew a 27-point lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars during his first trip to the postseason in January 2023.

The problem is that the Chargers still clearly need to add more pieces before they can genuinely be viewed as championship contenders. Perhaps they'll do that through the NFL Draft, and maybe they can still acquire an established veteran or two (Keenan Allen?) in the coming weeks.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh. — Jan 15, 2025; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh at a press conference at The Bolt. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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