We're less than two months from the Jim Harbaugh Era officially kicking off in Week 1.
And while there are plenty storylines around the Chargers Head Coach's first season with the Bolts — including how Justin Herbert thrives under Harbaugh — optimism also oozes for future years, too.
A panel of NFL pundits with Sports Illustrated recently looked ahead into the future and picked out the teams they think can win a Super Bowl in the next five years.
The Bolts were a trendy pick under Harbaugh and Herbert, with four of the eight experts choosing the Chargers to win their first title.
SI's Albert Breer was the first pundit to go with the Bolts as a future champion. He wrote:
[I'll] throw my curveball with the Los Angeles Chargers, just because I think Jim Harbaugh is going to find his way back to the NFL's big stage, armed with one of the game's most gifted quarterbacks in Justin Herbert.
Conor Orr echoed Breer's sentiment.
The Chargers will have success with Jim Harbaugh, and the team will get a title during the Justin Herbert era.
Gilberto Manzano and Michael Rosenberg also went with the Bolts but noted the elusive Super Bowl crown could be a few seasons away.
Manzano wrote:
Now for my surprise team. The Chargers have Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh. Those two alone will turn the organization into a playoff team within two years, before forming into a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Harbaugh will eventually build stout offensive and defensive lines and a productive running game to let Herbert shine in the postseason.
Rosenberg added:
The Chargers' roster needs work but Jim Harbaugh will build a tough, resilient winner around Justin Herbert.
Do these predictions mean the Bolts will eventually win a Lombardi Trophy? Of course not.
The Chargers, of course, still have to get through their division-rival Chiefs, a team that every pundit picked to win at least one title in the next five years.
But it's clear that the Chargers are a team on the rise as their four total predicted titles ranked fourth overall behind the Chiefs (10), Lions (6) and 49ers (5).
With Harbaugh and Herbert leading the way, the future looks bright for the Bolts.
"One thing I know is Los Angeles, Southern California, they respect talent, effort and winning," Harbaugh said during his introductory press conference in February. "It needs to be multiple. Multiple championships. We're going to be humble and hungry, but that's our goal.
"That's our goal, is to treat people in a first-class manner to win multiple championships," Harbaugh added. "Day-by-day ... it's going to be one day at a time, one game at a time, one play at a time."
Sports Illustrated's full list can be found here.
