The absolute worst-case scenario happened last night when news broke that the Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh. The Denver Broncos need to take action now. Not only has Harbaugh had success with every single coaching stop he’s made, but he’s had immediate success, too. Most notably, he won the college football national championship with Michigan this year.

He also appeared in a Super Bowl when he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. And that SB appearance was in his second year as HC of the team. Folks, Jim Harbaugh is an excellent football coach who is going to make the Los Angeles Chargers better overnight. The Denver Broncos are no longer going to be able to walk all over the Chargers like they have been able to do for years.

In fact, the Chargers with Harbaugh might already be a better team than the Denver Broncos. In response to this hiring, the Broncos must do these three things this offseason.

1. Fix the pass rush and run defense
During his first three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, his offenses ranked 11th in points scored each year. This was led by an elite rushing attack, which ranked 8th, 4th, and 3rd in yards from 2011-2013. With Harbaugh having Justin Herbert as his QB now, he’ll surely still look to feature a tough rushing attack, but he’ll also not hesitate to build an offense that can air it out too.

While I think Justin Herbert is a massively overrated QB, he has shown the ability to be a prolific passer. Jim Harbaugh is going to try and feature an offense that can kill teams through the air and on the ground. In response to that, the Denver Broncos must fix their second-worst run defense from 2023 and improve on their inconsistent pass rush.

If the Broncos can win at the line of scrimmage against LA, it’ll be hard for the Chargers to beat Denver. Somehow acquiring a top-tier pass rusher and adding some space-eaters on the interior of the defense is going to counteract the offense that Jim Harbaugh wants to run.

2. Try to poach some potential Chargers cap casualties
With a new era in Los Angeles, the process will begin with Harbaugh and his staff implementing their vision for the roster. The Chargers need to clear a ton of cap space this offseason. According to Over The Cap, LA is roughly $46 million OVER the 2024 cap number. They’ll soon get to work putting in a plan to not only erase that surplus but also give themselves some money to spend.

The four biggest contracts and players that the Chargers are going to have to decide futures on will be wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and pass rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. All four of these players are either old, hurt all the time, or a mixture of both. It’s hard for me to envision all four being on the roster come 2024.

Personally, though, I could see some of them sticking around. The Chargers won’t get hardly anything in a trade for any of them. All four players have cap hits of at least $32 million in 2024, and restructuring their contracts just kicks the can down the road. If I were the Denver Broncos, I would most definitely spring on the chance to sign Khalil Mack or Joey Bosa if they are cut. The Broncos need juice up front, and taking a low-risk swing on one of them could pay dividends for the team.

The Chargers have dealt with a ton of injuries for years, so perhaps the issue isn’t the players themselves, but perhaps the training/recovery programs they have in place. Furthermore, the Denver Broncos were extremely healthy last year, which was much different from prior seasons, so if the Chargers were to cut Joey Bosa, I would personally LOVE to see Denver take a chance on him in hopes he can stay on the field.

You also have to figure that any Chargers player who might get cut from the team would want to stick it to them in a way. The Broncos should keep tabs on the Chargers future cap casualties.

3. Get a franchise QB in the building
Obviously.

The Denver Broncos need a franchise QB like we all need water to live. It’s getting insane at this point. Fortunately, the 2024 NFL Draft seems to have several franchise QB options that the team can take a look at. And honestly, I don’t think they have much of a choice here. They need to fall in love with a QB in the first round.

It sounds kind of silly, but that’s what needs to happen. And frankly, I could not care less if it’s JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, or Michael Penix Jr. I trust Sean Payton and the rest of the front office staff to draft a passer that best fits what they want to do in the future. Justin Herbert is not going anywhere, and I think this coaching stop for Jim Harbaugh is going to be the last one he makes in his coaching career.

The Broncos cannot continue to trot out the veteran retreads. They’ve tried it for years and it just is not working. The Broncos can, however, trot out a bridge QB for a year, perhaps half a year while they develop a passer. Maybe Denver wants to draft Michigan’s JJ McCarthy but also don’t think he is ready for Week 1.

Starting someone like Jacoby Brissett for a bit and polishing McCarthy as an NFL passer might be a nice solution. However, Sean Payton might draft a QB in 2024 and throw them into the starting lineup come Week 1. We are not professional football coaches, so we probably don’t know the right solution.