Chargers Are Cheap and It Could Cost Them Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert

Nothing says more about the Los Angeles Chargers right now than Jim Harbaugh finally being speechless after the latest loss.

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The Chargers sit at 0-5 and it’s easy to throw out blame. Sure, blame Harbaugh for some bad in-game decisions. Blame Justin Herbert for the sandwich-themed turnovers. Blame Mike McDaniel. Blame Joe Hortiz for the state of the roster.

But Harbaugh didn’t forget how to coach. Herbert knows how to quarterback. McDaniels is trying to run an offense with players who wouldn’t crack a 53 for other teams. And Hortiz probably has his hands tied by Chargers ownership.

Because it starts at the top: The Chargers are cheap.

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The Chargers bought the expensive car but won’t put the nice fuel in it. They paid for Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel.

But they’re also 31st in cash spending. The Chargers’ cap-to-cash ratio (0.9711, no other team is below 1) is dead last.

Onlookers can argue until they’re blue in the face that this doesn’t matter. But there’s a fine line between being “smart” with money and just being “cheap.”

Being “cheap” is what creates a five-man competition at left guard all summer in front of the franchise quarterback. Cheap is signing the bargain free-agent center before the market opens to get a deal. Cheap is still rocking with Quentin Johnston because it’s a deal. Or trading for Odafe Oweh, seeing his production in the defense, then not paying to keep him. Cheap is pretending to overvalue the comp pick process in the name of strong depth, when it’s really about budget.

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And cheap is still sitting on $26 million in cap space while this all unfolds.

There’s perplexing stuff to the cheap factor too. Best example is drafting a first-round running back instead of a premium position, when running back is the one position where “cheap” can be a really good, productive idea. Kimani Vidal says hello.

Not that Chargers fans expected anything different from this ownership group. But it’s going to cost them Harbaugh, and it might just cost them Herbert, who appears to be in a funk only a change of scenery will solve.

And if the time to move on from Herbert comes, Chargers ownership hasn’t exactly instilled confidence that it will use the bounty of assets gained in a way that does anything other than carefully balancing the checkbook before anything else.

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Today’s best reads

• Jim Harbaugh’s Spat With Reporters Hints at Bad Things for Chargers
• Biggest Decision Mike McDaniel Got Wrong Against Seahawks and it Needs to Stop
• Should the Los Angeles Chargers Fire Mike McDaniel?
• Chargers and Jim Harbaugh Each Receive Unflattering Review at NFL Quarter Pole
• One Glaring Statistic Shows How Quickly Chargers Have Digressed

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as Chargers Are Cheap and It Could Cost Them Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert.

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This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 9:00 PM.