For someone who once thought he’d never coach, Nick Hardwick found himself in the strangest of places:
Sitting in a high school in Indiana, as midnight approached, cutting off a movie.
“I was sleeping four hours a night,” he recalled Monday, “and I thought, ‘If I’m doing this for free and actually donating money, why not do this at a different level, a level that I’m more familiar with ?’ ”
That’s part of what led Hardwick back home to the Chargers, the former Pro Bowl center who is now an offensive line assistant.
Hardwick, 42, a veteran of 11 NFL seasons, is making his professional coaching debut with the only franchise he has ever known and for a boss who has spent the past three months preaching the importance of the offensive front.
Read more: The Chargers new attitude starts with drafting a huge Joe Alt, strengthening the defense and receivers
Jim Harbaugh hasn’t stopped talking about his trench-first philosophy since his introductory press conference in February. Just last week, he called offensive linemen “weapons.”
The Chargers used their first pick in the draft — No. 5 overall — on Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt on Thursday. They also just picked up the fifth-year option on left tackle Rashawn Slater’s contract.
“To have a coach say that offensive linemen are weapons and are valued,” Hardwick said, “that’s pretty awesome.”
Under Harbaugh, the Chargers will play offense closer to the ground. They will still have record-breaking quarterback Justin Herbert, but the roster is being reshaped to improve and strengthen the running game.
Harbaugh and new general manager Joe Hortiz let the more elusive Austin Ekeler leave in free agency, replacing him with a bruising Gus Edwards and an explosive JK Dobbins.
Read more: Chargers 2024 NFL Draft: All nine picks split, five on offense
In the sixth round on Saturday, the Chargers drafted Troy with Kimani Vidal, who stands just 6-foot-4 but weighs 213 pounds on that compressed frame.
“He just runs through arm tackles, can make guys miss, take a hit, stay on his feet, great balance, strong,” Hortiz said. “[Defensive backs] approaching him, he will give them a stiff arm slap and just carry on.”
Dobbins is coming back from a torn left Achilles tendon and said Monday he is determined to shed the “injury-prone” label after being limited to nine games over the past three seasons with Baltimore.
In 24 career games, Dobbins has averaged 5.8 yards per carry. As a rookie in 2020, he ran for nine touchdowns during the regular season and another in the playoffs.
He and Edwards rushed for more than 1,500 yards that season under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who is now in the same position with the Chargers.
Dobbins was asked what reuniting with Edwards in this “Ravens West” offense could look like in 2024.
“I think it will look beautiful,” he said. “A lot of people call this a passing league, but I think you have to run the ball to win a Super Bowl. If you look at the teams that win a Super Bowl, they can run the ball. They can control the clock. If we are both good, it will look great and beautiful.”
With all the talk about the ground game, it’s easy to see why Hardwick called this opportunity “pretty spectacular.”
He said former Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt told him late in his career that if he ever wanted to coach, he should just make the call. And Hardwick’s reaction?
“I thought, ‘There’s no way that’s possible,’” he said. “And here I am.”
Read more: Chargers draft pick Joe Alt is following in his father’s NFL footsteps
When his playing career ended in 2014, Hardwick said his two young sons, Hudson and Theodore, drew him back to the game and to coaching.
The family lived in Indiana, just four houses away from Westfield High. Hardwick said he walked into the school and offered his services as an assistant — and didn’t thank him.
Instead, he coached peewees — second- and fourth-graders — for two years before moving on to high school.
Now that his sons are 12 and 10, Hardwick said he felt the time was right to try to pursue a more serious coaching position. He let the Chargers know he was interested.
So when Harbaugh called two months ago, Hardwick answered. Well, at least the second time Harbaugh called, he answered. Hardwick didn’t recognize the number and didn’t answer the first time.
Read more: Hernández: Joe Alt fits Jim Harbaugh’s ‘competitors welcome’ philosophy
After receiving a text message that Harbaugh was trying to reach him, Hardwick connected to the new No. 1 Charger.
“You kind of feel it in your heart,” Hardwick. “Oh God, this is happening. This is real.’ ”
In the course of that one phone call, Hardwick was offered the position and accepted – “Coach Harbaugh calls, you say yes” – and was on his way to a job that Hardwick described as dreamlike.
“I’ll be honest, I can’t believe they let me do this,” he said. “I think that every morning when I wake up and drive to work. ‘I can’t believe they let me in here. My key still works.’ I have only been here two months, but it is so special.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
