Jim Harbaugh is excited to start planning the Los Angeles Chargers’ offseason strategy with general manager Joe Hortiz.
However, these plans will pause for a short time as Harbaugh is scheduled to undergo two medical procedures.
During his end-of-season comments on Wednesday, Harbaugh shared that he will “soon” have an ablation to treat an irregular heart rhythm and also undergo hip replacement surgery.
Harbaugh experienced an irregular heartbeat during the first half of a 23-16 win against Denver on October 13. In the first quarter, Harbaugh briefly went into the medical tent before heading to the locker room. While in the locker room, his pulse was checked, an EKG was done, and he received an IV and magnesium. Harbaugh returned to the sideline after the EKG showed his heart had returned to normal rhythm.
The 61-year-old Harbaugh explained that he had been dealing with atrial flutter for many years, which causes the heart to beat too fast. After the Broncos game, Harbaugh saw a cardiologist, wore a heart monitor for two weeks, and took a blood thinner.
This will be Harbaugh’s third cardiac ablation. His first was in 1999 when he was still playing, and the second was in 2012. An ablation is a procedure where small burns or freezes are used on heart cells to create small scars in the heart tissue, which helps to prevent irregular heart rhythms.
Harbaugh also walked with a noticeable limp late in the season, especially when moving from the sideline to the locker room because of his hip.
Harbaugh returned to the NFL after leading Michigan to a College Football Playoff championship last season. He helped the Chargers improve by six wins.
Now, Harbaugh and Hortiz have about six months to focus on building the team before training camp starts.
Despite the Chargers’ 32-12 loss to Houston in the AFC wild-card playoff, Harbaugh continued to praise his team, which finished the regular season 11-7.
“I really felt going into that tournament that we were as good as the best teams in the playoffs. That day we were not the better team,” Harbaugh said. “We did not play complementary football and weren’t our best when our best was needed; that’s my responsibility.”
Quarterback Justin Herbert struggled in the loss, throwing four interceptions and completing just 14 of 32 passes for 242 yards and one touchdown. His 40.9 passer rating and 43.2% completion rate were both career lows in 81 starts, including playoffs.
However, Harbaugh continued to take responsibility for Herbert’s performance. “We did him a disservice and didn’t put him in a position to be successful,” Harbaugh said.
Though Herbert has lost both of his playoff games, Hortiz pointed out that other successful quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Lamar Jackson also had rough starts to their playoff careers. Manning lost his first three playoff games, and Jackson lost his first two.
“I hear the narratives and all that, but there are a lot of great quarterbacks in this league who may not have had the ideal start to their playoff careers. So, if we’re going to set a narrative on Justin based on two playoff games, that’s just absurd,” Hortiz said.
The Chargers will have more salary cap space this offseason compared to last year. However, they also have more free agents, including nine players who were starters or made important contributions on one-year deals. Some of these players are running back J.K. Dobbins, cornerback Kristian Fulton, and linebacker Denzel Perryman.
Linebacker Khalil Mack will become a free agent, while offensive tackle Rashawn Slater will be on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal.
“If you focus on one area, you negate others. From an organizational standpoint, you want to improve everything from competition to how we do things in the building,” Hortiz said.
Harbaugh mentioned he didn’t expect any big changes to the coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has been considered a potential candidate for some head coach positions.
Greg Roman’s return would be positive for Herbert, as it would be the second time in his career to have the same offensive coordinator when entering his sixth season.
