"I Don't Want To Break Them Down. I Want To Make Them Harder To Break" Jim Harbaugh’s Strength Coach Is The Warrior Poet Every Franchise Needs
For most people that aren’t chargers fans, they know the franchise for one of two things: Chargering (aka pissing away a lead and/or losing a one score game) and the fact that they are consistently the most injury prone team in the league. After listening to just a few minutes of new Executive Director of Player Performance coach Ben Herbert speak, I’m convinced that’s all about to change.
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Herbert is a yinzer who had stops at Wisconsin and Arkansas before landing at Michigan with Jim Harbaugh in 2018. As you can see by that video, this guy is the blueprint for what you want out of a S&C coach. LARGE? Check. BALD? Check. GOATEE? Check. Slightly psychotic look in the eyes + a voice that sounds like he’s been eating a bowl of metal shavings for breakfast every day? Check. These are all baseline requirements for the job.
On top of that, this guy also has such a similar mindset and delivery to Harbaugh it’s crazy. The meticulous planning, the sayings, the talk about mentality etc. it’s almost like he was budded off Jim at some point in the past. And I love how he essentially lays out exactly what he plans to focus on to make the players stronger. Neck, shoulders, hips, hammys and ankles. You’re damn right I’m reading that like Rip Torn in ‘Dodgeball’. If this five-fold focus is the key to keeping this injury-riddled roster on the field, I’m very down.
To be honest, the start of the Harbaugh era has been a bit of a roller coaster. The excitement of him and his staff signing on brought with it a massive high. That was stopped very abruptly with the trade of Keenan Allen. He’s older, he was getting paid a lot and he rightfully didn’t want to take a pay cut after his career-best year. But, damn, did losing him hurt. Especially with MW also cut and Bosa staying in town. Also, all of the free agent signings this offseason have been smart, budget-friendly, roster-building moves that haven’t moved the needle much either. To be clear, that is totally fine and the smart move at this point. But you can’t help but want that morale train to get moving again.
That’s where a guy like Ben Herbert makes a difference. Staff like him rarely get the chance to shine on the podium despite the fact that they are the guys that work fully grown men into a berserker-type rage to pick things up and put them down. Use that same energy that fuels the players to fuel the fans. Weaponize strength!