On Wednesday, the Chargers made the splash hire everyone thought they would, bringing in Jim Harbaugh as the franchise’s next head coach.
All eyes now turn to the rest of the staff. Here are a few names to keep tabs on for the offensive coordinator opening.
Greg Roman, Former Ravens offensive coordinator
Roman has been the most rumored name for offensive coordinator for any Harbaugh staff, even before he was hired by the Chargers. The 51-year-old took 2023 away from coaching after resigning from John Harbaugh’s staff in Baltimore following the 2022 season.
Jim and John often share staff members, but Roman has plenty of experience on what is now LA’s side of the family as well. Roman was Harbaugh’s associate head coach for the last two years of his Stanford tenure, then followed Harbaugh to the 49ers, where he was offensive coordinator for all four seasons of that regime. A run-heavy coordinator, Roman was oft-criticized in Baltimore for not setting Lamar Jackson up for success in the passing game during his tenure with the Ravens. With Justin Herbert already in place in LA and the run game in flux, Roman could be the man to fix the woes on the ground, but would likely need to come with an impressive pass game coordinator hire.
Drew Terrell, Cardinals pass game coordinator
A former wide receiver under Harbaugh and Roman at Stanford, Terrell also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant for Harbaugh’s early Michigan teams. Since then, the 32-year-old has experienced a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks, including a stint with the Commanders as wide receivers coach before taking the additional pass game coordinator title in Arizona last offseason.
Terrell was interviewed for the offensive coordinator job with the Cardinals that season before it was ultimately awarded to Drew Petzing, but there’s clear momentum present for him to take control of his own offense eventually. Arizona’s entire roster was a pleasant surprise this season, with a portion of that credit undoubtedly owed to Terrell. He will also be serving as the offensive coordinator at this year’s Shrine Bowl. That time in Frisco could serve valuable for a coaching staff now tasked with putting together a draft board on short notice, but it could also delay the hiring process enough that the Chargers could look elsewhere in order to hit the ground running.
Tanner Engstrand, Lions pass game coordinator
A San Diego native, Engstrand began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with Harbaugh at the University of San Diego. The 41-year-old climbed from that role to assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach through 12 seasons with the Toreros, departing to rejoin Harbaugh in Ann Arbor for a season as an offensive analyst in 2018.
Engstrand has spent the last four seasons in Detroit, each of them with the pass game coordinator attached. The biggest obstacle towards him becoming offensive coordinator in Los Angeles is that he’s likely due for a promotion to offensive coordinator with the Lions, assuming current playcaller Ben Johnson is hired as a head coach somewhere this offseason. But if Johnson stays – an upset, but not a colossal one in the wake of his decision to turn down interviews last season – Engstrand could look west for that same opportunity.
Kellen Moore, Chargers offensive coordinator
While he doesn’t have any direct ties to the Harbaugh tree, the Chargers blocked Chicago’s request to interview Moore for their offensive coordinator opening last week. That could open the door for Moore to return for a second season calling plays for Los Angeles. (It could also have been because Moore was still under consideration for the head coaching job at the time.)
The main draw here would be continuity. Justin Herbert has now had three head coaches and three offensive coordinators in LA since being drafted in 2020. Replacing Moore would bring in a fourth coordinator, marking the seventh voice to be in Herbert’s ear in one way or another in his young career.
The Chargers were a top ten offense by DVOA for much of the season, until injuries to Herbert, Keenan Allen, and center Will Clapp led to a miserable last month of the year. Moore’s primary issue was protection plans and running the ball, two things Harbaugh and his staff have always specialized in. A new offensive line coach and run game coordinator, potentially the same person, could patch those holes in Moore’s philosophy and help the Chargers find balance.
Ronald Curry, Saints pass game coordinator
An eight-year NFL vet as a quarterback, Curry was coached by Harbaugh for his first two seasons in the league and later reunited with Harbaugh in San Francisco as an offensive assistant in 2014. When Roman was hired as Bills offensive coordinator in 2015, he attempted to bring Curry with him, but the 49ers blocked the move. Instead, Curry moved to New Orleans in 2016 and was named wide receivers coach in 2018. In 2021, he was reassigned to quarterbacks following Joe Lombardi’s hire in Los Angeles before adding the pass game coordinator title in 2022.
Regarded as a rising star in the industry, Curry mentored Michael Thomas to his 2019 Offensive Player of the Year award and has experience as the offensive coordinator of the 2023 Senior Bowl. Curry has also interviewed for the vacant offensive coordinator job with the Saints, who moved on from Pete Carmichael earlier this offseason. He also interviewed in Tampa Bay last offseason before the Buccaneers hired Dave Canales as offensive coordinator.
There is also some potential that Curry and/or New Orleans would accept a lateral move to Los Angeles, depending on how the Saints’ search goes in the coming weeks. In that case, he’d also be a name to watch as a pass game coordinator under an offensive coordinator like Roman.
Sherrone Moore, Michigan offensive coordinator
The architect of Michigan’s dominant offensive line, Moore also stepped in as interim/acting head coach for four games during the 2023 season due to two different suspensions Harbaugh served for violations of NCAA and/or Big Ten rules. In those four games, Michigan remained undefeated, including a three-game stretch at the end of the season including bitter rivals Penn State and Ohio State.
With NCAA discipline still looming from Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal and reports suggesting that Harbaugh’s punishment will be honored by the NFL, Moore is a potentially enticing option both as offensive coordinator and as his potential interim given the level of trust he’s built during the pair’s time at Michigan. But the Wolverines may also try to elevate Moore to full-time head coach, which could stop him from following Harbaugh to the NFL ranks. Moore has also never coached in the NFL, which could give Chargers brass pause about handing him an entire professional offense.
Pep Hamilton, Former Texans offensive coordinator
Stanford’s wide receivers coach during Harbaugh’s last season in Palo Alto, Hamilton stayed behind and was elevated to offensive coordinator when Harbaugh left for the 49ers. The two reunited in 2017 and 2018 when the former Howard quarterback served as assistant head coach and pass game coordinator at Michigan, two years before Hamilton mentored Justin Herbert as a rookie in 2020.
In some sense, a Hamilton hire could be the best of both worlds. He’s familiar with the Harbaugh coaching tree and style from two different locations, but also has a rapport with Herbert from his time as Chargers QB coach in 2020. Hamilton is often credited with propelling Herbert to his Offensive Rookie of the Year award that season. But he’s also struggled to find success since then, spending two rather lackluster years in Houston before turning to the media circuit in 2023. It’s probably more likely to see him return to Los Angeles in a position coach or pass game coordinator role.
David Shaw, Former Stanford head coach
Shaw came with Harbaugh from San Diego to Stanford in 2007, serving as offensive coordinator and eventually being named Harbaugh’s replacement as the head coach in Palo Alto. In twelve seasons at the helm at Stanford, Shaw went 96-54, an impressive record given the restrictions at such an institution. Shaw resigned in 2022 but is still just 51 years old and is well respected in the coaching profession.
Whether as offensive coordinator or in some other role, it does appear that Shaw will be on the Chargers staff in some capacity after interviewing twice for the head coaching vacancy. Teams often leverage those interviews to touch base with potentially interested assistants, especially ones with ties to their intended target.
While Shaw is a highly thought of coach with plenty of connections to Harbaugh, he has not coached in the NFL since 2005 and resigned from Stanford after two consecutive 3-9 seasons where it became apparent that the modern game was beginning to pass him by. The Chargers will need to evaluate whether or not the time away from coaching revitalized him with new ideas, otherwise it would probably be best to keep him in a position coach role with a potential assistant head coach title.
