Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi may have spent the better part of over a decade with the New Orleans Saints, but he has some familiarity with his new team after spending a few days out west during summers for joint training camp practices over the last few years.
"I've got so much respect for those guys," Lombardi said of the Chargers. "New Orleans and the Chargers had joint training camps for two or three years. Man, I know the talent that's in that building there in Los Angeles."
Lombardi said along with the guys who he's seen over the past few years like Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler, he's "excited" to work with reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Justin Herbert.
"I thought he played very maturely for a rookie," he said of Herbert. "Getting the ball out on time, knowing where to go with the football and knowing when to scramble, there was no question of his talent level coming out of college. To see him being able to apply it that quickly in an NFL setting is very impressive."
With a wealth of coaching experience under his belt, this marks Lombardi's second stint as an offensive coordinator in the league after holding the position with the Detroit Lions from 2014-2015. When asked what he learned from that experience, Lombardi cited "flexibility" and learning to be able to adjust on the fly, whether it be with schedules or ways of doing things.
So to the Chargers, Lombardi is bringing a philosophy that he describes as, "do what your players do well."
"It's the ability to apply that," he mentioned. "Every player has something he's good at and maybe something he struggles with. So figuring that out and getting all 11 guys in a position where they have a chance for success is what we're gonna be all about."
