There’s a new coach in town, and the Chargers’ franchise QB has finally shared his thoughts on the hire.
In an interview with FOX Sports on Wednesday, Herbert opened up on a slew of topics, with his thoughts on next season being front and center. After playing under Anthony Lynn for his rookie season, Herbert will now be tasked with taking ownership of the offense under a defensive-minded head coach in Brandon Staley. This isn’t scaring off Herbert, however, as he’s more excited about who the coach is than his impact on the offense.
“We’ve met a bunch of times. He brings the energy. He’s an exciting guy that really knows a lot about football. I’ve heard from so many other people how great of a coach he is. And that meant a lot to me.”
Staley is coming off of a tremendously successful first season as the Rams’ Defensive Coordinator, a season in which his defense was ranked as the best in the NFL. This should help out the Chargers on that side of the ball significantly, but the offense was still a question mark following the hire. That’s where the rest of the coaching staff will come into play. The biggest hire, aside from Staley, could end up being Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi.
Lombardi has been with the Saints for 12 years total over two different stints, and he’s worked with their quarterbacks exclusively for the past 5. His time in New Orleans has seen the continued progression of Drew Brees, but it has also been marked by the continuous improvement of backups Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston.
As excited as he is to have Staley’s energy and leadership at the helm, Justin Hervert is equally excited for what Lombardi can bring to the LA offense.
“The staff that he’s bringing in is pretty special as well. Coach [Joe] Lombardi from the Saints. We’ve been able to talk about the offense a little bit. I think there are a lot of things that we did well last year in this previous offense that will carry over to this year just because of the personnel and the guys that we have. So it’s a lot to look forward to.”
The Chargers finished 7-9 in 2021, but many of those losses came in one-possession games. A new scheme and new coaching staff should complement a solid core on both sides of the ball, hopefully leading to an increase in wins next season.
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