The Los Angeles Chargers are 10-4, undefeated in the AFC West, and firmly in the playoff picture - and they’ve done it with a roster that’s been held together by grit, duct tape, and sheer willpower.
Let’s break it down: Rashawn Slater hasn’t played a single snap this season after tearing his patellar tendon. Joe Alt, the promising rookie tackle, barely got his feet under him before suffering back-to-back high ankle sprains - the second of which ended his year.
Omarion Hampton, who flashed early, has missed more than half the season after fracturing his ankle in a freak play against Washington. Najee Harris?
Gone for the year with a ruptured Achilles just weeks into the campaign. And Justin Herbert?
He’s out there playing quarterback - and winning - with a fractured left hand.
This isn’t just a team dealing with adversity. This is a team staring down a full-blown injury apocalypse - and still finding ways to win.
The Chargers are 5-0 in divisional play. They’ve weathered injuries that would have sunk most teams by midseason. And they’re doing it under a new head coach who’s brought a different edge, a different culture, and a different level of accountability.
This is exactly why Jim Harbaugh was brought in.
No, it hasn’t been perfect. There have been games that made fans question whether this was the right hire.
There have been moments that felt like setbacks. But if you’re looking at the full picture - the injuries, the record, the division dominance - Harbaugh belongs squarely in the Coach of the Year conversation.
Instead? He’s sitting with the tenth-best odds at one sportsbook, listed at +15000. That’s not just low - it’s borderline disrespectful.
Meanwhile, other names are floating near the top of the betting markets. Shane Steichen, whose Colts are stumbling down the stretch, is still ahead of Harbaugh in some rankings. That alone should raise eyebrows.
Coaches like Sean McVay, Sean Payton, Mike Macdonald, and Ben Johnson are all in the conversation - and deservedly so. They’re doing excellent work.
But none of them are navigating the kind of injury storm Harbaugh has had to steer through. None of them have had to rebuild their offensive line midseason, retool the backfield, and find ways to win with a quarterback playing through a broken hand.
Harbaugh has this team believing. He has them fighting. And most importantly, he has them winning.
It’s not flashy. It’s not always pretty.
But it’s effective. And it’s the kind of coaching job that deserves recognition - not as an afterthought, not as a long shot, but as a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate.
If the Chargers can knock off the Cowboys this weekend, it’ll be their fourth straight win coming out of the bye. That would be the kind of statement win that might finally force the conversation into the national spotlight.
Until then, Harbaugh and the Chargers will keep doing what they’ve been doing all season: tuning out the noise, battling through the injuries, and finding ways to win when no one else expects them to.
And if that’s not Coach of the Year material, then what is?