Why isn't Justin Herbert involved in Chargers' offensive coordinator search?

The Los Angeles Chargers have put Justin Herbert through so much over the years, including five different offensive coordinators.

One would think the Chargers owe it to Herbert to let him have a say in picking the team’s next franchise coordinator after the firing of Greg Roman.

But it sure doesn’t sound like that’s happening, or hasn’t yet.

While Jim Harbaugh gets to work searching for his first NFL-level offensive coordinator not named Greg Roman, he ducked around the questions of whether Herbert has a say in who gets the role.

“He’s not looking to be the GM or the coach,” Harbaugh said, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic. “It’s our responsibility to put him in the best position possible.”

Again, one would think Harbaugh and the Chargers would at least ask Herbert what sort of offense he would like to use. The franchise has failed him on most other counts, including properly protecting him up front.

Maybe Herbert wants to run an offense with more designed mobility to get him away from defenders. Maybe he wants to run a more traditional, under-center sort of thing. Heck, maybe he wants to run the same old thing.

But the Chargers should at least ask.

Teams like Cincinnati aren’t keeping Joe Burrow out of talks like this. Patrick Mahomes would have a say in Kansas City.

These themes are something Popper recently hit on in a video while confirming the Chargers haven’t really involved Herbert:

From last night's Hops With Pop: Why doesn't Jim Harbaugh want to involve Justin Herbert in the OC search? https://t.co/Hq2Osj2qEx pic.twitter.com/4ISsvee9A4
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) January 16, 2026

And if Herbert says he doesn’t want to be involved in the process…ask anyway.

This is a weird thing between Herbert and the Chargers, really. They collapse in the playoffs. But so does he. So whatever they need to do to get him comfortable in both the regular season and playoffs needs to happen. One would think that includes the coordinator spot.

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