Bears’ historic comeback sinks Packers while 49ers upset Eagles
USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes reacts to every game from a chaotic yet entertaining Wild-Card weekend in the NFL.
Jim Harbaugh is shaking things up for the Los Angeles Chargers in the wake of the team’s latest playoff disappointment.
The team on Tuesday announced it had fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman after two seasons. Offensive line coach Mike Devlin was also let go.
Roman had been one of Harbaugh’s most trusted longtime assistants, having served under him in previous stops at Stanford and with the San Francisco 49ers. In Los Angeles, he helped engineer a rapid turnaround for quarterback Justin Herbert and Co. that resulted in playoff appearances in each of the last two years.
But the Chargers’ season came to another disappointing end Sunday in a 16-3 wild-card round loss to the New England Patriots. Herbert took six sacks, and the attack was held to just 207 yards and a 1-of-10 mark on third down.
Including last season’s 32-12 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, the Chargers have scored just one touchdown on their last 22 postseason possessions.
After Sunday’s game, Harbaugh declined to defend Roman when asked whether the coordinator was the right play-caller for he team, saying he didn’t know.
“We’re going to look at that and everything,” Harbaugh said.
Season-ending injuries to offensive tackles Rashawn Slater (torn patellar tendon in training camp) and Joe Alt (high-ankle surgery after appearing in just six games) dealt a significant blow to the Chargers’ offensive game plan. Herbert ended up taking 54 sacks – more than all but two other quarterbacks – and was pressured at a league-high 43.3% rate, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Chargers could be facing changes at coordinator spots on both sides of the ball, as defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has had all eight teams with a head-coaching vacancy request him for an interview.
