As proponents of exotic smash-mouth football, Harbaugh and McVay succeed by leaning into an ultra-physical approach that sets the tone for the entire team. While their creative play designs and unique formations dominate headlines, both are old-school thinkers with throwback philosophies that continue to work in a pass-centric league.

Harbaugh, in particular, has won at every level by utilizing a ground-and-pound attack — despite routinely having talented quarterbacks at his disposal. Whether it was Andrew Luck at Stanford or Alex Smith/Colin Kaepernick on the San Francisco 49ers or J.J. McCarthy at Michigan, Harbaugh’s QB1 operates as a cog in an offense spearheaded by a dominant front that fuels a bruising ground game.

Since taking over the Chargers in January, Harbaugh has constantly emphasized the significance of the offensive line. It is apparent that his winning blueprint starts and ends with the big boys up front.

“The offensive line, to me, is important,” Harbaugh told reporters at the Annual League Meeting in March. “If I asked you the question of like, what position group depends on no other position group to be good, but every other position group depends on them to be good — what position group is that? Offensive line.”

So, yeah, it was absolutely fitting when the first pick of the Harbaugh era in Los Angeles was offensive tackle Joe Alt. The towering technician, taken at No. 5 overall, is a rare talent with refined skills as both a run and pass blocker. Also, he possesses the kind of nasty on-field temperament that O-line coaches adore. The Notre Dame product teams with 2021 first-rounder Rashawn Slater to give the Chargers a fine set of bookends with the capacity to blow defenders off the ball and snuff out dangerous edge rushers. This will allow the Bolts to commit to bludgeoning foes at the line of scrimmage. Harbaugh aims to overpower the opposition with a “three yards and a cloud of dust” philosophy that ultimately creates big-play opportunities through the air.

With Justin Herbert put in position to benefit from a “less is more” approach that prioritizes efficiency over volume, the Chargers could rely on a complementary game plan that forces opponents to excel in each of the three phases (offense, defense and special teams) in order to beat them. Though it is not a sexy approach, it is similar to how Marty Schottenheimer built the Bolts into a powerhouse with Drew Brees/Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson in the first decade of this millennium. Fast-forward to 2024, and the Chargers could lean into the familiar gap-scheme running game that helped Stanford and Michigan run roughshod over opponents with Harbaugh on the sideline.

Given offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s success in punishing NFL opponents with a creative scheme that has expanded since his time with Harbaugh in San Francisco, Los Angeles’ running game should be in good hands with a pair of former Baltimore Ravens (Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins) reprising their roles as co-RB1s in the Chargers’ version of the offense. Though neither is regarded as a high-end No.1 runner, the collective production from a pair of hard-nosed backs should open up the field for a blue-collar group of pass catchers on the perimeter. Without a true WR1, the Chargers will count on Josh Palmer, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston to make key plays on an assortment of intermediate and deep throws off run-action fakes. While the jury is still out on whether those young wideouts can adequately replace the production that walked out the door when Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were dismissed, Los Angeles is clearly going to count on a ball-control approach to produce more wins in 2024.

McVay made a similar gamble a year ago when he revamped his offensive approach to feature more gap-scheme runs, moving away from the previously preferred wide-zone/inside-zone system. The schematic shift was a better fit for the Rams’ retooled offensive line, which featured more road graders than ballerinas at the line of scrimmage. With the running game featuring more pulls and kick-outs — instead of choreographed shuffle steps — the Rams’ running backs could squirt through creases against an overaggressive and undisciplined front seven. Moreover, the transition to a gap scheme upped the group’s physicality, with Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson really thriving at the point of attack. With Jonah Jackson signed to a big-money deal in free agency, the Rams now have an interior trio with the size, strength and power to bully opponents in the trenches.

Last season, Kyren Williams rumbled for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on 228 carries (5.0 yards per carry), exhibiting outstanding vision, balance and body control while slithering through gaps between the tackles. The former fifth-round pick exploited undisciplined defenses with timely cutbacks, flashing home run potential when he reached the second level. A natural scat back due to his lightweight frame (5-foot-9, 194 pounds), Williams surprisingly shouldered a heavy workload in 2023 (seven games with at least 20 rush attempts), but a key addition could lead to a work-share arrangement in ’24. Blake Corum (5-8, 213) adds more toughness and pop to the backfield as a downhill runner with exceptional lateral quickness. The third-round pick displays extraordinary balance and pitter-pat while weaving through traffic, and he routinely finishes his runs with the violence of a sledgehammer.