Akheem Mesidor belongs in the same sentence as Jim Harbaugh’s next step: a third season with the Los Angeles Chargers after back-to-back playoff exits in the wild card round. The result is a straightforward one for Los Angeles — make the postseason again, then prove the run can continue.
Harbaugh has gone 66-31-1 across six seasons with Chargers and San Francisco, and he has reached the playoffs in all but one of those seasons. He has never finished below.500, a record that makes the Chargers’ two straight one-and-done exits feel less like progress than a ceiling the team has to push through.
Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco
In 2024, the Chargers lost to Houston Texans in the wild card round. In 2025, they lost to New England Patriots in the wild card round. Two playoff berths in two seasons is the easy part to praise; the harder part is that both trips ended before the bracket could open up.
The Chargers are still being described as one of the best teams in the NFL since Harbaugh arrived, but that label only buys so much time when the postseason ends in the same round twice. The gap now is not making the field. It is getting the team to play past the first weekend, where the margin between a strong regular season and a real January run shows up fast.
Greg Roman and Chris O’Leary
After last season, the Chargers fired Greg Roman and replaced him with Mike McDaniel on offense. Jesse Minter was replaced by Chris O’Leary after he became the head coach of Baltimore Ravens. Those changes point to a staff trying to sharpen the parts of the team that have already gotten it to the dance.
That is the practical test for 2026 NFL season: Harbaugh already has the baseline numbers, but the Chargers need a cleaner postseason script. If the offense settles and the new staff pieces hold, the team can turn repeat playoff appearances into something more than another short January.
2026 NFL season
Harbaugh is the one person who can make that shift happen, and his résumé says the ceiling is real. The question is no longer whether the Chargers are good enough to get there. It is whether a third season becomes the one that finally ends with the wild card round behind them.
