NFL Rumors: Chargers job in demand, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, Pete Carroll tussle to save Justin Herbert's career

The Los Angeles Chargers finished the 2023-2024 season with an underwhelming 5-12 record and fired head coach Brandon Staley and General Manager Tom Telesco before the season ended. Entering the 2024 off-season, the Chargers will have to spend time figuring out who their next head coach and GM will be.

With the Chargers head coaching position vacant and with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks parting ways this off-season, he could become their next head coach.

Via ProFootballTalk, Carroll is making a push for the Chargers' head coaching vacancy as he remains a free agent. He reportedly wanted the job last off-season, but LA didn't fire Staley.

The Chargers, being one of many teams without a head coach, have already been gaining steam with other top candidates.

NFL reporter Mike Garafolo reports that the Chargers are in "striking distance" to make John Harbaugh their next head coach. Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is also in the mix.

---

Pros and cons of Chargers hiring Jim Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh during Michigan National Championship Celebration

Pros: Jim Harbaugh has a ton of NFL experience.

Harbaugh was an NFL quarterback from 1987-2001, playing for six different franchises. One of them happens to be the Chargers.

He also has a ton of experience coaching. He coached the Oakland Raiders in 2002 before coaching at San Diego and Stanford from 2004 to 2010. He coached the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014 and also the Super Bowl.

He returned to college football in 2015 with Michigan and just won the national championships.

Cons: Harbaugh hasn't coached in the NFL since 2014. He could jump back to college since he won a national championship if he desires to do so.

---

Pros and cons of Chargers hiring Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll during Seattle Seahawks v Arizona Cardinals

Pros: Pete Carroll, like Jim Harbaugh, has a ton of coaching experience at the college and NFL level. Carroll has won national championships in college, and won a Super Bowl in the NFL. He's a proven winner.

It was a surprise that the two parted ways, but the Seahawks agreed to retain Carroll with a lesser role. Carroll can still choose to sign with a team to become their head coach if the opportunity presents itself.

Cons: Age. It seems as if the Seattle Seahawks maybe thought the head coach role was too much for Caroll at this stage of his career. There's no reason to keep Caroll as part of the organization while demoting him if they didn't think the position was too much for him to handle.

Caroll will turn 73 in September and isn't getting younger. His years as a coach are numbered.

---

Pros and cons of Chargers hiring Mike Vrabel

Mike Vrabel during Jacksonville Jaguars v Tennessee Titans

Pros: Mike Vrabel is a player's coach. As a former NFL player-turned-head-coach, Vrabel is a man that his players enjoy playing for, and he understands them differently than most coaches. It showed when he was unexpectedly let go by the Titans this off-season, with many players, such as Derrick Henry, saying it was a surprise. Vrabel has made the postseason three out of six times in his short coaching career.

Cons: Lack of experience. Lack of postseason success

Mike Vrabel has been an NFL head coach for six seasons on one team. Unlike Harbaugh and Carroll, he doesn't have the resumes they do. He's only made the postseason three times and has a negative record at 2-3 in the playoffs.