But luring Harbaugh to Los Angeles has been perceived as the get of the head coaching cycle, one that’ll finally begin an ascension to contender status.
Harbaugh is fresh off delivering his alma mater, Michigan, the College Football Playoff National Championship, and before constructing a powerhouse in Ann Arbor for nine years, he amassed 44 wins and an NFC Championship in four seasons with the 49ers.
Bosa expects Harbaugh is capable of helming a success story once again, even if he’s wary of the week-to-week nature that comes with the NFL.
“That’s an expectation for sure,” Bosa said regarding whether or not Harbaugh will change the team’s fortunes. “I’d like to win Game 1 first, then we can talk about Week 2 and then Week 3. Sometimes getting caught up with all the Super Bowl talk and all the hype gets you unfocused and worrying about the wrong things when you should just be worrying about what’s in front of you.
“There’s a lot of talk of Super Bowl every year, and every year I kind of have a similar answer like, ‘Alright, let’s see how the first week goes and then we’ll talk about that.’ “
Harbaugh isn’t the only part of the turnaround equation, though.
Bosa, a game-wrecker when healthy, hasn’t been for the past couple of seasons. After three consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns from 2019-2021, the edge rusher has played just 14 games combined across 2022 and 2023.
He appeared in nine of those for the Chargers last season before spraining his foot early in a Week 11 game against the Green Bay Packers and spending the remainder of the year on injured reserve.
He finished with 6.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
There’s certainly room on the Chargers’ new-look defense for someone with such production in roughly half a season of work, but his impact in Year 1 under Harbaugh likely hinges on his ability to stay on the field.
With any luck, Bosa’s injury fortunes will improve along with the team overall.