COSTA MESA, Calif. — Khalil Mack distinctly recalls one of the first conversations he had with Jim Harbaugh earlier this offseason.
Despite finishing 2023 with a career-high 17 sacks, Mack took a pay cut in March to return to the Los Angeles Chargers for another season. The Chargers had hired Harbaugh as their new head coach in early February. The two connected after Mack agreed to the restructured contract. Mack said he sensed Harbaugh was a “straight shooter,” and so he cut right to the point in the conversation.
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“Coach, I’m signing back here to win,” Mack remembers telling Harbaugh. “I’m not coming on to play competitive football. I want to play meaningful football at the end of the year.”
According to Mack, Harbaugh “kept it straight” in his response. He listed off defensive and offensive players. The two talked about the roster.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, it’s a shot. It’s a shot, man,’” Mack said. “I already knew it, because I knew the guys we had in the building.”
Mack added: “He’s like a simple dude. He’s not going to tell you what you want to hear. He kind of just kept it real and told me, ‘Well, if we’ve got this many guys on each side, we can win.’ And he’s like, ‘We have this number now, and we can work on building some certain guys up or bringing certain guys in.’”
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Mack is entering his 11th NFL season. The only thing missing from his mantle of accolades is a Lombardi Trophy. Mack said his pursuit of that goal drove him to take a pay cut and stay with the Chargers.
“I know these guys, man,” Mack said Wednesday after the Chargers’ second practice of mandatory minicamp. “They got what it takes in this locker room, starting with the quarterback. And then you got my guys on defense. It’s just a lot of different intangibles that you look for when you want to have a running mate and teammates. So just understanding these guys and knowing their capabilities. You could say potential. I don’t like that word. But just the dedication and the hard work. That hard-working part, this team has it.”
k mack aka smoke show is still rollin' 😭 pic.twitter.com/s0tkUGtpaH
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) June 13, 2024
Mack said Harbaugh joining as coach also “factored” into the decision.
Joey Bosa, Mack’s partner on the edge, had a similar approach this offseason. Bosa also took a pay cut and restructured his contract in March to return to the Chargers.
“I want to win,” Bosa said. “I want to be on this team. I want another shot with the guys in this room, especially Khalil. … Winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money.”
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Some other notes and observations from Day 2 of minicamp:
• The Chargers have held five practices open to media so far this spring, between organized team activities and minicamp. One development is clear on defense: safety Derwin James Jr. will be moving around. He has played safety. He has played nickel. And he has been blitzing off the edge.
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This is nothing new for James, who was used often as this kind of chess piece under the previous coaching regime. What is new is the person scheming and calling the defense: coordinator Jesse Minter.
When Minter last spoke with media in February, he admitted there is a “fine line” between utilizing James’ versatility and putting too much on his plate. The previous regime crossed that line.
Minter has now had the chance to work up close with James, on the field and in the meeting room.
“I’m going to try over the summer to clone him and try to make three of him,” Minter joked.
How has the vision for James materialized over the past four months?
“Where can he most be effective in a certain game, in a certain type of matchup?” Minter said. “He can do it all. But as I’ve said before, you’ve got to be careful of not overloading him.
“There’s times where he’s really good back (at safety). He’s an elite tackler, and so sometimes when that guy’s coming down the middle of the field as your last line of defense, you feel pretty good about it. And then there’s times where he’s blitzing off the edge and he’s causing havoc. There’s times when he’s locking up a slot receiver or locking up a tight end.”
For now, Minter is experimenting. James’ role will come into clearer focus through training camp. But the broader goal is cemented.
“As I told him,” Minter said, “let’s re-stake the claim as you being one of the best safeties in football.”
• When James moves into the slot, another safety must come onto the field to replace him. As we have been noting through the spring, that third safety battle is shaping up as one of the more heated position competitions heading into training camp. AJ Finley and JT Woods have been rotating in those situations and that continued Wednesday.
Minter called the Finley-Woods battle “a great competition.”
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“They sense there’s a real opportunity here for a lot of snaps because of Derwin’s flexibility and how good he can be doing different things,” Minter said. “Both of them have a chance to take it. So look forward to those guys challenging each other and having a great competition in training camp.”
Finley has also been working in at nickel with the second team.
“Versatility is a key factor of how we play,” Minter said.”I don’t want to say position-less, but we try to teach the coverages in a way that guys can really play in any spot.”
• Rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still was the standout defensive player of Wednesday’s practice.
In seven-on-seven, he intercepted quarterback Justin Herbert. Still was in coverage down the left sideline on receiver Jaelen Gill. Herbert lofted a deep ball. Still jumped the route and picked it off.
Two plays later, Still nearly came down with another interception when he jumped a route to the flat. He had to settle for the pass breakup. Still had a third pass defended in the final period of practice, deflecting an attempt from third-string quarterback Max Duggan to Gill.
“Tarheeb has, probably in the last three or four practices, made a really, really good jump that you sort of expect a guy to make after being able to digest five or six practices,” Minter said.
rook got it on lock pic.twitter.com/myt8NliNMN
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) June 12, 2024
Ja’Sir Taylor has been getting the bulk of the work at nickel during the spring, with Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton at outside corner. But keep an eye out for Still. His coverage instincts are flashing, and he has some intriguing ball skills.
• Herbert was a bit up and down to begin practice. In the opening 11-on-11 period, he connected with receiver Simi Fehoko on a long touchdown down the seam on a busted coverage. Two plays later, Herbert overthrew tight end Stone Smartt on a crossing route. Alohi Gilman was waiting deep and picked the ball off with a diving catch. Then came the Still interception.
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But Herbert dialed in for the seven-on-seven red zone period. He had three sensational throws in his four reps. The first was dropped in a bucket to tight end Hayden Hurst on a corner route for the touchdown. Herbert then hit receiver Joshua Palmer for a touchdown on a skinny post. Palmer made a toe-tap catch in the back of the end zone. Herbert fired another laser two plays later to DJ Chark in the back of the end zone. It was a dime, but Chark could not get both feet down for the touchdown.
• The defense responded in a later red zone seven-on-seven period. Daiyan Henley made an athletic play to break up a pass intended for running back Elijah Dotson in the flat, preventing the touchdown. Henley has been really solid in coverage this spring.
On the next play, linebacker Junior Colson broke up a pass on the goal line from Herbert intended for Chark. Herbert finished the period with two touchdown passes. He found Chark off a play-action boot for a 2-yard score. And he connected with Palmer for a second straight touchdown on the next play, also from 2 yards out.
• A few injury updates: Edge rusher Chris Rumph II was back in individual drills for the first time this spring. Harbaugh said Tuesday that Rumph has been “working through” an injury, but he would not provide any more details. Tight end Will Dissly, tight end Donald Parham Jr. and running back Gus Edwards worked off to the side during Wednesday’s practice. Cornerbacks Cam Hart and Zamari Walton were not on the field.
• Offensive coordinator Greg Roman also spoke with media Wednesday for the first time since February. He and Harbaugh have been vocal about their desire to be physical and run the ball this season. He was asked about potentially shifting that philosophy because of Herbert’s talents as a thrower.
“I definitely think we want to have some balance in our offense,” Roman said. “But we’re not just going to run the ball into a brick wall either, bang our head against a brick wall. Sometimes the illusion of wanting to run the ball a lot is just as powerful as the ability to. So we’ll see how it all comes together.”
This remains one of the biggest questions heading into the 2024 season. How will the Harbaugh-Roman identity fit with one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league? The truth is we will not know for sure until the regular season kicks off Sept. 8.
(Top photo of Khalil Mack: Harry How / Getty Images)
