Updated: September 6th, 2026. The season recap covers 2025; personnel sections look ahead to 2026, including Predictions, Projections and Complete 2026 Standings.
Leadership and Coordinators
- Owner: Dean A. Spanos Owner and Chairman of the Board Spanos has entrusted football operations to Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz, whose consecutive 11-win seasons have yet to produce a playoff victory.
- Decision Maker: Joe Hortiz — General Manager Hortiz rebuilt the interior offensive line and added veterans familiar with Mike McDaniel’s system.
- Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh Harbaugh has produced 22 regular-season wins in two years, yet both seasons ended in the wild-card round. The next phase of his program is turning physical identity and quarterback stability into January success.
- Offensive Coordinator: Mike McDaniel McDaniel replaces Greg Roman and brings a motion-heavy, speed-oriented offense. His central task is helping Justin Herbert create efficient explosives without exposing him to another season of excessive pressure.
- Defensive Coordinator: Chris O’Leary O’Leary takes over a defense with star power at every level. He inherits a deep front and one of the league’s most versatile safeties in Derwin James Jr.
- Special Teams Coordinator: Ryan Ficken Kicker Cameron Dicker and All-Pro coverage player Del’Shawn Phillips lead a reliable unit for Ryan Ficken.
2025 Season Recap
The Chargers’ 2025 season proved both the strength of Jim Harbaugh’s program and the limits of asking Justin Herbert to solve everything. Los Angeles went 11–6 for a second consecutive year, finished 5–1 in the AFC West and earned the conference’s No. 7 seed. The season ended with a 16–3 wild-card loss at New England, the second straight year the Chargers reached the playoffs but failed to advance.
Herbert’s season was one of the toughest of his career. He played without Rashawn Slater for the entire year, lost Joe Alt for more than half of it and finished the final month with a fractured left hand. Behind a constantly changing line, he was sacked 54 times. He still threw for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns, rushed for a career-high 498 yards and repeatedly converted broken plays through strength, movement and anticipation. His 13 interceptions reflected the pressure and burden, but his ability to keep the offense functional was the primary reason Los Angeles won 11 games.
The skill group also endured disruption. Rookie running back Omarion Hampton missed time but produced 545 rushing yards and 192 receiving yards. Kimani Vidal stepped into a larger role and led the team with 643 rushing yards. Ladd McConkey paced the receivers with 789 yards, Keenan Allen added 777 in his return season and Quentin Johnston produced 735 yards with eight touchdowns. Rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II became a major success, catching 49 passes for 664 yards and three scores.
Los Angeles gained 5,675 yards but scored only 368 points. That gap reflected a team that could move between the 20s yet too often stalled under pressure or lost blocking options near the goal line. Herbert accounted for a significant share of the rushing value himself, and the offensive line allowed pressure before route concepts could develop. The Chargers converted third downs effectively during the regular season and led the league in time of possession when their starters played, but their offense remained too vulnerable to one poor protection matchup.
The defense quietly carried a heavy load. Los Angeles allowed 340 points and 4,849 yards while recording 60 sacks. Tuli Tuipulotu broke through with 13 sacks, and midseason acquisition Odafe Oweh added 7.5 in 12 games. Derwin James intercepted three passes and continued to affect games as a safety, slot defender and pressure player. Daiyan Henley led the tackling group, while the defense’s 19 interceptions helped produce a modest plus-two turnover margin.
The season began with important division wins over Kansas City in Brazil and Las Vegas, and the Chargers eventually swept both the Raiders and Chiefs. They went 5–0 in prime-time games, including an overtime victory over Philadelphia. Those results showed a team comfortable in high-leverage environments. Losses outside the division and the relentless offensive-line attrition kept Los Angeles from challenging Denver for the title despite the identical 5–1 AFC West record.
Harbaugh rested starters in a 19–3 Week 18 loss at Denver, prioritizing health for the postseason. The wild-card game in Foxborough still exposed the same issue. The defense intercepted Drake Maye early and later forced a red-zone fumble, but the offense turned neither takeaway into points. Los Angeles went 0-for-2 in the red zone, converted only one of 10 third downs and gained 207 yards. Herbert was sacked six times and lost a fourth-quarter fumble. Oweh’s three sacks and two forced fumbles gave the Chargers opportunities that the offense never used.
The 16–3 loss was not a collapse in the usual sense; it was a complete absence of offensive answers. New England controlled the second half, and Los Angeles possessed the ball for only 27:45 after normally dominating that category. The defense allowed one touchdown and still had no realistic margin.
McDaniel’s arrival is the response. His spacing, motion and quick-game answers should help Herbert, but the system cannot compensate for another wave of line injuries. Tyler Biadasz’s season-ending ACL tear in August already forced rookie Jake Slaughter into the center job, leaving Los Angeles with three new interior starters. The Chargers have the quarterback, defense and coaching credibility to remain a playoff team. Their 2026 season will be judged by whether those pieces finally function together in January.
2025 AFC West Standing
- 1. Denver Broncos — 14–3 (5–1 division) — Lost CC PF: 401 · PA: 311
- 2. Los Angeles Chargers — 11–6 (5–1 division) — Lost WC PF: 368 · PA: 340
- 3. Kansas City Chiefs — 6–11 (1–5 division) — Missed Playoffs PF: 362 · PA: 328
- 4. Las Vegas Raiders — 3–14 (1–5 division) — Missed Playoffs PF: 241 · PA: 432
The Chargers split with Denver but finished three games behind the Broncos because they were less consistent outside the division thanks to their inability to score touchdowns in the redzone.
Notable 2026 Player Additions
- TE David Njoku Njoku gives Herbert a proven vertical and after-catch threat at tight end. Pairing him with Gadsden lets McDaniel create mismatches without declaring run or pass through personnel.
- C Tyler Biadasz An August ACL tear ended his season before it began, forcing a rookie into the communication point of a rebuilt line.
- G Cole Strange Strange knows McDaniel’s offense and projects as the starting right guard. Los Angeles needs dependable interior pass protection.
- G Kayode Awosika Awosika emerged from camp as the likely left guard. His movement ability fits the new run scheme, while his limited starting history makes consistency an open question.
- TE Charlie Kolar Kolar is a physical blocker and a versatile piece for heavier packages.
- FB Alec Ingold Ingold knows McDaniel’s system and can block, release into routes and align in several spots.
- DT Dalvin Tomlinson Tomlinson adds durable interior strength beside Teair Tart. His ability to control blocks should keep linebackers clean and preserve favorable passing downs.
Notable 2026 Player Losses
- WR Keenan Allen Allen led the team with 81 catches and became the franchise’s career receptions leader. McDaniel must replace his third-down timing with Herbert across several players.
- EDGE Odafe Oweh Oweh recorded 7.5 sacks after arriving in October and dominated the playoff loss with three more. Rookie Akheem Mesidor enters a rotation that must replace that burst.
- G Zion Johnson Johnson’s departure removes a multiyear starter from an interior already undergoing complete change. Strange and Awosika now carry the starting responsibilities.
- G Mekhi Becton Becton handled starting snaps at right guard before becoming part of the full interior reset.
- TE Will Dissly Dissly supplied blocking and leadership before the tight-end room was rebuilt around Njoku, Gadsden and Kolar.
- DL Da’Shawn Hand Hand was part of the interior rotation and recovered Oweh’s forced fumble in the playoff game. Tomlinson and rookie Nick Barrett help replace those snaps.
2026 Draft Class
- Round 1, Pick 22 — EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami A powerful, versatile rusher who can attack from the edge or reduce inside. Oweh’s departure gives him a clear early role.
- Round 2, Pick 63 — OL Jake Slaughter, Florida A technically sound center prospect who became the projected starter after Biadasz’s injury. His command of protections will be tested immediately.
- Round 4, Pick 105 — WR Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State A true speed receiver who can threaten coverage vertically and contribute in motion. His explosiveness fits McDaniel’s spacing concepts.
- Round 4, Pick 117 — OT Travis Burke, Memphis A versatile developmental tackle who provides insurance behind Slater and Alt.
- Round 4, Pick 131 — S Genesis Smith, Arizona A rangy safety with coverage versatility and special-teams value. He can learn behind James while contributing in sub-packages.
- Round 5, Pick 145 — DT Nick Barrett, South Carolina A dense interior defender who can absorb blocks and strengthen the run rotation behind Tart and Tomlinson.
- Round 6, Pick 202 — G Logan Taylor, Boston College A developmental guard whose tackle experience adds valuable flexibility.
- Round 6, Pick 206 — G Alex Harkey, Oregon A powerful blocker who earned an initial-roster spot. He provides young depth behind the newly assembled starting interior.
2026 Spotlight Watch
- Hot Seat — Jim Harbaugh Two 11-win seasons are meaningful progress, but both ended immediately in the playoffs. Harbaugh must translate his team’s regular-season toughness into an offensive plan and game-day response that holds up in January.
- Breakout Watch — Oronde Gadsden II Gadsden produced 664 yards as a rookie despite the protection chaos. McDaniel can move him across the formation and pair him with Njoku, creating opportunities against safeties and linebackers who cannot match his route skill.
- Bust Watch — Cole Strange Strange is familiar with McDaniel, but familiarity alone will not solve the interior line. He must anchor consistently and communicate cleanly beside a rookie center; if pressure again reaches Herbert through the middle, the offense’s central weakness remains.
- Team Superstar — Justin Herbert Herbert carried an injured offense to 11 wins while taking 54 sacks and playing through a fractured hand. His arm talent, toughness and movement give the Chargers championship upside, but the roster must stop requiring him to create solutions after protection fails.
Prediction
We have the Chargers missing the playoffs, but they earned a silver lining by finishing the season at 9-8, their third consecutive season with a winning record.
Below is the complete 2026 regular season projections.
Sources
- NFL: Final 2025 division standings
- Los Angeles Chargers: 2025 team statistics
- Los Angeles Chargers: Wild-card loss at New England
- Los Angeles Chargers: 2026 front office
- Los Angeles Chargers: 2026 coaches
- Los Angeles Chargers: 2026 free-agency tracker
- Los Angeles Chargers: Initial 2026 roster
- Los Angeles Chargers: 2026 draft class
