Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh skirts questions about Greg Roman’s future

The Los Angeles Chargers reached the playoffs for the second straight season under head coach Jim Harbaugh, but once again fell short of the Super Bowl, losing 16–3 to the New England Patriots in the wild-card round on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. Although Los Angeles managed to achieve an 11–6 record for the second consecutive season, a subpar offensive performance dashed the team’s playoff hopes, leading to intense criticism of offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Roman joined the Chargers alongside Harbaugh in 2024, following earlier collaborations at Stanford and San Francisco, and later with John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens, where he served as offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022. He’s had his fair share of success, such as Lamar Jackson’s 2019 MVP season, but when it comes to the playoffs, his track record is pretty underwhelming. In seven playoff games as an offensive coordinator, Roman-led teams have scored 23, 13, 17, 17, 12, 12, and 3 points, an average of 13.9 points per game.

Following Sunday’s loss, when asked if Roman is the right person to be calling plays for Los Angeles, Harbaugh gave a noncommittal answer, saying he didn’t have the answer at the moment.

“We’re gonna look at that and everything,” he added.

Against New England, the LA managed just one scoring drive, a 21-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker. The offense went 1-for-10 on third down, failed on a fourth-down attempt, and amassed only 159 passing yards through the air.

Quarterback Justin Herbert completed 19 of 31 passes for 159 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Leading the Chargers on the ground with 57 yards, Herbert also took six sacks from the Patriots’ defense. At halftime, Los Angeles had produced only 117 total yards, converting just one of five third-down attempts. Herbert had thrown for 93 yards at the break, while the running game gained 36 yards on 13 carries, a 2.8-yard average.

After an interception by linebacker Daiyan Henley set the offense up with first-and-goal at New England’s 10-yard line, the Chargers failed to score and did not attempt a single running back carry on that series. First-round rookie running back Omarion Hampton finished the first half with just one carry, while Kimani Vidal had seven. Herbert scrambled five times. LA also went for it on fourth down from the Patriots’ 2-yard line, only the second time Harbaugh attempted a fourth-down try inside the 10-yard line all season.

The Chargers’ defense, coordinated by Jesse Minter, forced multiple turnovers by New England quarterback Drake Maye, who finished 17 of 29 for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Patriots advanced behind three field goals from Andres Borregales and will face the winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Houston Texans in the divisional round.

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