Tom Krasovic: Can Jim Harbaugh avoid third-year struggles that sank former Chargers coaches?

Can Jim Harbaugh’s third Los Angeles Chargers team avoid the baseball bat? I ask because recent Chargers coaches saw their program unravel, rather than ascend, in the pivotal third year. “Normally, your third year, it fits,” veteran NFL coach Andy Reid told the Kansas City Star a decade ago. “You kind of establish what you are or what direction you’re going.” Reid said that in his study of the industry, a bad third year often lands extra hard. “It hits you in the head like it’s a baseball bat,” Reid said. I ask because a Louisville Slugger arrived for third-year Chargers teams led by Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley, the coaches who most recently preceded Harbaugh. Each coach had begun with two winning seasons only to get exposed in their third years, falling to 4-12, 7-9 and 5-11. None of those programs recovered, and the stars of each coach plummeted, too. So when Harbaugh brought his team to the University of San Diego last month for two days of training camp, the question was put to Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz. Will Harbaugh’s third team avoid the third-year drubbing? Harbaugh, he insisted, belongs in a different category. Harbaugh led four San Francisco 49er s teams earlier in his career, where McCoy, Lynn and Staley were new to head coaching when hired by Chargers leaders Dean Spanos, John Spanos and Tom Telesco. “This is Jim’s seventh year as an NFL head coach,” Hortiz noted. “I couldn’t put that together with the previous guys,” he added. “It’s not apples to apples. It’s not apples to oranges. In Harbaugh’s third year with the 49ers, 2013, his team did what Harbaugh teams tend to do: They put the wood to most opponents. The rugged style took them to the NFC Championship Game. Though the 49ers didn’t match Harbaugh’s second team by reaching the Super Bowl, that NFC title bout in Seattle was nearly as big. The Seahawks won 23-17, then went on to trounce the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. If Harbaugh’s Chargers get to the AFC title game, it’ll be the franchise’s first one since the 2007 season. They’re heavy favorites to win the season opener Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. According to the quintessential Harbaugh guy among Chargers players, the coach’s rare consistency and enthusiasm have them ready to put on a show this year. Gợi ý thực hành: 1. Theo dõi thông báo từ cơ quan địa phương tại California. 2. Kiểm tra nguồn chính thức trước khi chia sẻ lại thông tin.