LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was searching for Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz.
“Where’s Joe, Where’s Joe?” he repeated as he scanned New England’s visitor’s locker room after the Chargers’ 40-7 playoff-clinching win over the Patriots last Saturday. When Harbaugh found Hortiz, the two embraced, exchanged an “I love you,” and agreed that they had more work to do.
Harbaugh is the Chargers’ biggest star — his face across billboards in the city and the one from whom fans crave autographs, more than any player. The Chargers’ turnaround this season will be added to Harbaugh’s collection of franchise turnarounds, but the moment with Hortiz was a reminder of the help Harbaugh has had in L.A.
Led by Hortiz and assistant general manager Chad Alexander, the Chargers front office helped this team double its win total from last season by finding value in players other teams have turned away and drafting rookies prepared to contribute.
“He takes no deep, long bows, but he should,” Harbaugh said of Hortiz. “He should take a very deep, long bow for just how good he is and what he’s been able to do with this team.”
Part of what has made Hortiz successful in his first year as a general manager is the staff he built around him, starting with assistant GM Chad Alexander. Alexander and Hortiz’s relationship spans two decades, beginning their careers with the Baltimore Ravens personnel department. (Alexander and Hortiz even spent a brief time as roommates when they first got to L.A.)
Alexander’s influence has shined through this season, perhaps none more than in Week 13 when the Chargers played the Atlanta Falcons. The Chargers claimed safety Marcus Maye off waivers four days before the game. Maye spent five seasons with the Jets, overlapping with Alexander, who spent five years with New York as its Director of Player Personnel.
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Maye played 21 snaps days after his signing and made one of the game’s biggest plays, intercepting Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter of the 17-13 win.
“The great thing with Chad is Chad can just run with it,” Hortiz said. “He’s such a great leader. And he’s a great evaluator, a great leader, extremely intelligent and just organized and just has everything the roadmap already laid out before I even go in there. It’s great.”
Ahead of the season, Harbaugh and Hortiz’s relationship was one of the team’s biggest question marks. During Harbaugh’s first NFL coaching tenure, with the San Francisco 49ers form 2011-2014, reports of friction between Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke were consistent.
Harbaugh downplayed the tension with his previous bosses when he took the Chargers job, promising that Hortiz would be Batman in the offseason to Harbaugh’s Robin and vice versa, during the regular season.
So far, that strategy appears to be working effectively, and Saturday’s playoff-clinching win over the Patriots was one of the best examples of that this season.
On Saturday, Chargers second-round rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey finished with eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, breaking Chargers single-season rookie records for receptions and yards.
It was one of the best games of McConkey’s first year, coming against the team the Chargers traded up with to select him in the draft with the 34th pick. McConkey had more receiving yards Saturday than the 2024 season total of the two receivers the Patriots selected with the picks they got in the draft-day deal, Ja’Lynn Polk (87 yards in 2024) and Javon Baker (0).
The Chargers were one of the league’s worst defenses in 2024 but are the NFL’s best scoring defense this season, largely because of the Chargers draft and offseason additions. Perhaps the most impactful additions have been defensive tackle Poona Ford, safety Elijah Molden and rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still.
“I think Joe has done a great job bringing in players whose skill set fits what we do,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.
Hortiz traded for Molden ahead of Week 1, sending a 2026 seventh-round pick to Tennessee. Molden quickly emerged as a starter, with Minter moving him to deep safety and Derwin James Jr. to nickel, essentially full-time. Molden is second amongst defensive backs in tackles (72) and interceptions (3). Molden suffered a season-ending broken fibula in the Chargers win over the Patriots in Week 17
The Chargers signed Ford to a one-year deal in March. After being a backup in Buffalo last season, Ford is having the best season of his career and is the Chargers’ best interior defensive lineman. Ford has career-highs in QB hits (9), tackles for loss (8), and recorded his first career interception.
Still was a healthy inactive for the Chargers’ first three games this season. However, cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.’s shoulder injury, which has kept him on injured reserve since Week 6, opened the door for more opportunities for Still. The rookie has seized on that opportunity with a team-leading four interceptions this season.
“You probably don’t even have to be in the building to see it, right?” Harbaugh said. “I mean, it’s that obvious, right? I mean, how great of a job Joe Hortiz has done, it’s obvious.”
