Jim Harbaugh Addresses Greg Roman’s Future as Chargers OC After Loss to Patriots

Could the Chargers end up making an offensive coordinator change?

Jim Harbaugh addressed Greg Roman’s future after the Chargers fell to the Patriots on Sunday. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

For the second straight season, the Chargers made the postseason under head coach Jim Harbaugh. And for the second straight season, the Chargers are heading home after losing in the wild-card round.

This time, the Chargers fell short of the Patriots in a 16–3 loss on Sunday night. The Los Angeles defense did its best to keep the Chargers in the game, but ultimately the offense could not capitalize on its opportunities as Justin Herbert was relentlessly hounded by the Patriots’ defense.

Herbert, who has been under incredible pressure all season after the loss of tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, was sacked six times by the Patriots. Even when he wasn’t getting sacked, Herbert did not play well. He went 19 of 31 for 159 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while also leading the team in rushing with 57 yards on the ground. The offense was unable to score points off the turnovers the defense forced and went 1-for-10 on third down.

While there were a number of people at fault for the Chargers’ offensive performance, the game especially did not reflect well on offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who joined the Chargers alongside Harbaugh in 2024.

When asked if Roman is the right person to call plays, Harbaugh responded, “I don’t have the answer to that right now.”

“We’re gonna look at that and everything,” he also said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN.

Roman has had a longstanding relationship with the Harbaugh family. He first crossed paths with Harbaugh while he was an offensive line assistant for the Panthers in 2001 and Harbaugh was a quarterback on the team. He later joined Harbaugh’s coaching staff at Stanford in 2009, and followed him to the 49ers during his four-year stint with San Francisco. After Harbaugh and the 49ers parted ways, Roman then joined brother John Harbaugh’s coaching staff with the Ravens. He even served as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2019-22 before resigning and joining Jim’s staff in Los Angeles a couple years later.

While Roman’s offenses have produced good results—like during Lamar Jackson’s MVP season in 2019—they have not consistently put up great results, particularly in the passing game. The Chargers were depleted by injuries offensively this season, but too often they were unable to scheme up more easy plays to take some of the pressure off of Herbert.

Harbaugh has not announced if he will move on from Roman this offseason, but him not ruling out the possibility is particularly notable as the Chargers look to become more than just a wild-card team in the future.

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