Official 2026 Chargers News | Acquisitions | Transactions | Injuries

[richpjr]

If you're the Raiders, would you trade the #1 pick for Lamar?

I don't think the #1 pick by itself is nearly enough to get Lamar. If I was the Ravens I'd demand the #1 pick, next year's first round pick and Crosby.

[YAC]

The Chargers hired Jim, then Jim coordinated with the Chargers to hire Joe, it's pretty simple, on the surface Jim treats Joe as an equal which is part of Jim's maturation in his football journey, but whenever you hear Joe talk in pressers you understand that he views himself as Jim's assistant, he will do whatever he can to help Jim and to keep Jim happy, Joe much like TT before him understands what side his bread is buttered on, and Jim for his part trusts him and probably listens to him more than someone he might feel beholden to because he trusts Joe and doesn't feel threatened by him...the only thing that should concern anyone is that Joe's ego is a distant second to the admiration and respect he has for Jim Harbaugh and that works for these two men, as long as those two are like peas in a pod then nobody here has anything to worry about...Long term I do believe that Joe will outlast Jim with the Chargers but only due to age and because GMs tend to have longer tenures in the NFL, plus Jim has a track record of wearing out his welcome over time, he did that in SF and then again at Michigan, before they won that title, Jim had been on the verge of getting fired for 3-4 years, he was having issues with some of the people in positions of power there, much like he did in SF too...so as long as Joe can serve as a buffer between Jim and John Spanos then things should continue to run smoothly in LA, Jim doesn't do well with authority

Agree w/every point here. Do suggest a paragraph break (or two) in there somewhere. My addled brain will consume more readily.

[Topcat]

If you're the Raiders, would you trade the #1 pick for Lamar?

If u were Lamar, would you demand a no trade to the Raiders addition to your contract? And if the Ravens don't agree to it, would u threaten to hold out for another team?

[Bolts4ever213]

Time to throw darts into the dark, if Minter wants a job as head coach, let him take that chance, only to have John come coach the defense.

[dmac_bolt]

Jim Harbaugh was hired first
And aside from Dawn Aponte, every GM candidate, I think, had ties to Harbaugh.

Hortiz was a good hre - but Jim runs the show like Andy Reid does.

Did the Chargers investigate that their next GM would be able to work well with Harbaugh - I'd sure hope so. They have lived thru the dysfunction of GM and HC not being aligned, it ended badly.

But that doesn't mean Jim runs the entire show and Joe is little more than his note-taking fetch boy. I'm sure Jim and coaches are telling Joe what they want in players etc., types of skills and abilities to work best in their preferred schemes etc. - every coach on every team does that - does that mean every HC is running the show?

Being a HC and molding the coaches and players he has in his building to work with into an elite football team is a full time job and then some. Working as a GM and managing the scouting and development staff, analyzing all of their reports of players across all 32 teams, FAs, college players, etc is another full time plus job. Why does everyone assume Jim is doing both jobs? Because he was hired first? If that's it, its not a persuasive sell imo. Jim has said that Joe is in charge of player acquisitions multiple times. Chef Joe, he loves to call him in admiration. TPB seems to think Joe is just his bus boy.

Anyone got any sourcing that Jim is making all personnel decisions? OR most of them? Any of them? That Jim made the final decision on any draft picks? Any pick, even one? I've never seen this reported by any source (credible or otherwise) - I still look forward to being educated ...

[CanadianBoltFan]

Time to throw darts into the dark, if Minter wants a job as head coach, let him take that chance, only to have John come coach the defense.

John is at the top of every heading coaching vacancy except Baltimore

[dmac_bolt]

The Chargers hired Jim, then Jim coordinated with the Chargers to hire Joe, it's pretty simple, on the surface Jim treats Joe as an equal which is part of Jim's maturation in his football journey, but whenever you hear Joe talk in pressers you understand that he views himself as Jim's assistant, he will do whatever he can to help Jim and to keep Jim happy, Joe much like TT before him understands what side his bread is buttered on, and Jim for his part trusts him and probably listens to him more than someone he might feel beholden to because he trusts Joe and doesn't feel threatened by him...the only thing that should concern anyone is that Joe's ego is a distant second to the admiration and respect he has for Jim Harbaugh and that works for these two men, as long as those two are like peas in a pod then nobody here has anything to worry about...Long term I do believe that Joe will outlast Jim with the Chargers but only due to age and because GMs tend to have longer tenures in the NFL, plus Jim has a track record of wearing out his welcome over time, he did that in SF and then again at Michigan, before they won that title, Jim had been on the verge of getting fired for 3-4 years, he was having issues with some of the people in positions of power there, much like he did in SF too...so as long as Joe can serve as a buffer between Jim and John Spanos then things should continue to run smoothly in LA, Jim doesn't do well with authority

There is no reporting that Jim told the Chargers to hire Joe.

I don't know that any of your other assumptions are right. I also don't know they are wrong. But Joe talking about helping Jim get the players he needs is not a tell he view himself as Jim's assistant., thats your interpretation due to pre-determined bias. you think he is, so you view anything he says through that lens. I don't get that from it at all. That is the GM's job to do all he can to help the HC succeed, its a non-statement akin to "working through something" as far as I'm concerned.

This whole debate is about who is selecting / signing players, right? Did you find some reporting that Jim forced, er told, Joe to sign anyone? I have never seen it, I'll be waiting over here ...

[dmac_bolt]

John is at the top of every heading coaching vacancy except Baltimore

in 24 hours. it is ironic.

Other irony: BAL is the most attractive HC opening in the league.

[CanadianBoltFan]

in 24 hours. it is ironic.

Other irony: BAL is the most attractive HC opening in the league.

They might be now yes, up until this development it was the Giants, who i read have reached out to Harbaugh

[Fouts2herbert]

I agree with you: hell no, I wouldn't trade Herbert for ANYONE.

As for Jackson's personal character: I don't have enough info on Lamar the person to say this definitively, but what I have read and seen indicates he's a relatively classy and intelligent dude. Yes along with his mom he negotiated the richest contract (at the time) in NFL history w/$185mil guaranteed.

An NFL agent praises what Jackson negotiated:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/agents-take-how-lamar-jackson-fared-representing-himself-negotiating-his-record-setting-deal-with-ravens/

I'm not judging his character either, but his insistence in representing himself is a big problem for the Ravens, I'm not sure any organization in the NFL would be willing to take on the headache involved with that type of situation, the player? Yes, the player yes, but the contract situation, HELL NO...He's scheduled to hit the cap at almost 75mil this year and the Ravens now have to call his mom and have a sit down with these people that have no idea what the cap implications are for the club, nor do they probably even give a shit...it's a shitshow nightmare situation for any team, and if Herbert was doing what Jackson is doing I would be saying the same things about Herbert...there is a reason why negotiations are handled by intermediaries and it's designed to avoid hurt feelings and other problems, those negotiations between the Ravens and the Jackson and his mom left a lot of bad taste on both sides...

[Fouts2herbert]

I won't say not a chance but I would be totally surprised if John Harbaugh goes to Vegas

He wouldn't want to have to deal with Brady and that nonsense. He wants to be like Jim and Andy -they run the show for those teams

I wouldn't say never either but I think coach is too smart to take on an owner like Mark Davis...that and with all the options that he's going to have, why would he go there? If I was John I would take a year off, enjoy the wife and the grandkids and do some bullshit TV gig then hit the coaching cycle next year...the Ravens owe him money for the next 2 or 3 years, so he's already got like 40-55mil coming if he decides to take some time off...that's a really long tenure that just ended, he's rooted into the Baltimore community now...I think he's going to take some time off, the Cleveland job would intrigue me from a fuck you to the ravens perspective but that place is a shit show with the Watson situation...

[Fouts2herbert]

I don't think the #1 pick by itself is nearly enough to get Lamar. If I was the Ravens I'd demand the #1 pick, next year's first round pick and Crosby.

if someone decides to take on the Jackson contract and negotiations issue, they will have to have roughly 55-75mil in cap space available just to absorb the cap hit from Jackson's deal...IMO, it's going to be very difficult for the Ravens to trade Jackson...