Tom Krasovic: Jim Harbaugh is turning Justin Herbert into a great QB

For many years, the Los Angeles Chargers failed Justin Herbert.

Those days ended in January, when Dean and John Spanos, forced by recurring failure to get over themselves, ceded the money and power needed to hire Jim Harbaugh.

Herbert won the football lottery once Harbaugh signed his five-year contract worth $80 million.

Harbaugh understands how to win games, how to manage seasons and how to play quarterback. He’s the total package. As a bonus, Harbaugh had the juice to ensure the Spanoses would ramp up investments in infrastructure, where they’d skimped.

Every Chargers player has benefited from Harbaugh’s hiring, but none as much as Herbert. A quarterback bears the largest burden among players to win a Super Bowl trophy.

Harbaugh is the rare NFL head coach who knows firsthand what quarterbacking entails. From 1987 through 2000, he started 140 NFL games, plus five playoff games.

Herbert is so talented that Harbaugh took the Chargers job rather than stay at Michigan.

What is Harbaugh doing with Herbert?

A picture has emerged through nine games, six of them victories.

Harbaugh put into motion the coaching and personnel moves that have turned a Chargers weakness into a strength. The defense, a year after finishing 23rd in points allowed per game, ranks first in the NFL. It allows 10 fewer points per game than the ’23 unit.

True to the square-jawed Harbaugh’s track record, the offense has developed a high-volume, more physical ground game.

Harbaugh’s run game accounts for 49.9% percent of the offense’s plays, sixth in the NFL.

Previously, the Chargers were a finesse team that asked Herbert to wing it often despite pass protection that was often mediocre or worse. Their offense ranked 27th (2023), 31st (2022) and 28th (2021) in run percentage under Brandon Staley, the third of three consecutive low-salaried, malleable head coaches hired by the Spanoses.

Harbaugh doesn’t have a great group of pass-catchers. But they don’t need to be great for the Chargers to win games. Harbaugh is shortening the contests through two methods: running the ball and snapping it deep in the play clock. The offense’s average of 31.7 seconds consumed per play is second in the NFL.

The methodical style assists a defense coordinated by Jesse Minter, who followed Harbaugh over from Michigan.

Minter’s unit has played just 59 snaps per game. That’s fewer than 26 other NFL defenses.

First-half success also is driving improved complementary football. Well-prepared, the Chargers have started fast in most games. In the first quarter, they stand first in fewest points allowed and 11th in points scored.

Herbert looks less stressed, evidenced by his refusal to throw interceptions.

With only one interception — a forced throw at Carolina in Week 2 — he leads the NFL with a paltry 0.4 interception rate. Herbert trails only the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson with a career-best 8.56 adjusted yards per pass attempt, a statistic that accounts for interceptions.

What next?

It hasn’t been all good since the JH trio was formed — Harbaugh, Herbert and GM Joe Hortiz.

Hebert’s sack rate has risen to a career-high 8.2%, 20th in the NFL.

But as the schedule toughens, Harbaugh has set up Herbert to succeed.

Creating tendency-breaking opportunities for Herbert’s passing, defenses have to account for the diverse ground game devised by Greg Roman, the same coordinator under Harbaugh who 12 years ago helped guide quarterback Colin Kaepernick for the Super Bowl-bound 49ers.

Herbert’s recovery from a Week 2 ankle sprain provides additional late-season juice. By applying his good sprint speed, he can hurt defenses as the stakes go up.

What has Harbaugh done for Herbert?

Another positive answer applies to this week’s Sunday night matchup against the Bengals.

Herbert won’t have to play as well Sunday as Bengals QB Joe Burrow for the Chargers to win, because of the defensive growth under Harbaugh.

Burrow, who’s actually playing better than when he led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl three seasons ago, will have to contend with Minter’s top-ranked unit. Herbert, meantime, will take aim at Bengals D that’s 26th in points and also 26th in DVOA, a better stat.

Though Herbert has the tools to decide games through individual brilliance, which he may have to try to do more often as the competition stiffens, Harbaugh has solidified his game by asking less of him.

If Herbert were a stock, it would be a good idea to buy more shares. The longer he’s with Harbaugh, the better he’ll get.

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