The Chargers’ postseason offense scored one TD in 22 possessions under Roman—so both he and line coach Mike Devlin are gone before the seats at SoFi are even cold.
The Los Angeles Chargers pulled the plug on Greg Roman and offensive-line coach Mike Devlin less than 48 hours after a 3-point wild-card meltdown against the New England Patriots, the team announced Tuesday. The move sends the franchise searching for its fifth offensive coordinator in six seasons and signals head coach Jim Harbaugh is no longer willing to gamble on continuity over production.
Postcard from the abyss: 22 drives, 1 touchdown
Since the start of the 2025 postseason, Roman’s offense has produced:
- One touchdown in 22 possessions
- Two straight wild-card exits
- A 3-point face-plant in which the Patriots defense looked “unsure what we were doing,” linebacker Robert Spillane admitted
The unit’s red-zone regression carried into the regular season: after finishing 11th in scoring in Roman’s first year, L.A. slid to 22nd in 2025 even with a healthy Justin Herbert for most of the slate.
Injuries can’t absorb all the blame
Yes, Herbert’s late-season hand fracture, season-ending ankle surgeries for tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, and a knee issue that shelved rookie runner Omarion Hampton battered the depth chart. But the front office still supplied Roman with:
- A $140 million franchise quarterback
- Two 1,000-yard wideouts in Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey
- A top-five defense that handed the offense plus field position nearly every week
When coordinator Jesse Minter’s group allows the fifth-fewest yards in football, three points at home in January is a firing offense—literally.
Harbaugh’s loyalty hits a hard ceiling
Roman followed Harbaugh from Stanford to San Francisco to Baltimore and finally to L.A., but even that decade-plus relationship couldn’t survive another January dud. Asked immediately after Saturday’s loss whether Roman would return, Harbaugh responded with a non-committal shrug: “We’re gonna look at that and everything.”
Team brass completed the evaluation in 36 hours.
What’s next: Coaching carousel and scheme fit
Expect the Chargers to chase a play-caller who can marry Herbert’s down-field juice with a quicker rhythm passing game—something Roman’s heavy-under-center, multiple-tight-end sets never consistently delivered. Internal candidates such as pass-game coordinator Shane Day carry familiarity, while external names like Ben Johnson (Lions) or Bobby Slowik (Texans) would require permission but fit the league’s movement toward motion-heavy, shotgun-based attacks.
Cap ripple: No dead money, all options
Both coaches were in the final year of their deals, so owner Dean Spanos absorbs zero dead-cap charges and gains flexibility to pair a new coordinator with a potential offensive-line overhaul this spring. With two first-round picks and roughly $45 million in projected cap space, the Chargers can rebuild the trenches and the playbook simultaneously.
Bottom line
Los Angeles just told the league—and its locker room—that 11 regular-season wins mean nothing if you lay an egg when it matters. Herbert enters his age-28 season with MVP-level talent; the front office now has six months to find someone who can unlock it in January instead of wasting it in the wild-card round.
For lightning-fast takes on every coaching twist and roster shake-up, keep your eyes on onlytrustedinfo.com. We deliver the sharpest, most trusted analysis before the press conference microphones even cool off.
