Having already played under three different head coaches during his eight seasons with the Chargers, star edge rusher Joey Bosa knows certain desired qualities in them are rare.
But he’s already noticed an important one in Jim Harbaugh, who was hired with much fanfare by the Chargers to be their new head coach.
“We sat down and probably talked for 30 minutes, an hour a couple of weeks ago,” Bosa told The Post in an exclusive interview. “Great first impressions. … I have a lot of confidence in him and the staff that he’s bringing around him.
“I think he seems like a really genuine guy, which you don’t find that a lot in coaches all the time. He’s interesting. He loves football more than anything. I think all he wants to do is win. The way he talked about his feelings toward this job and toward the future was pretty exciting.”
The Chargers have massively underachieved the Super Bowl contender expectations that have been bestowed upon them in recent years, and cleaned house by firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco midseason.
Will Harbaugh change the team’s fortune?
“That’s an expectation for sure,” Bosa said. “I’d like to win Game 1 first, then we can talk about Week 2 and then Week 3. Sometimes getting caught up with all the Super Bowl talk and all the hype gets you unfocused and worrying about the wrong things when you should just be worrying about what’s in front of you.
“… There’s a lot of talk of Super Bowl every year, and every year I kind of have a similar answer like ‘alright, let’s see how the first week goes and then we’ll talk about that.’”
Bosa is trying a new sport this offseason, set to participate in the Wonderful Pistachios Get Crackin’ Eating Championship at the Santa Monica Pier in California on Monday.
He’ll compete against some of the best competitive eaters in the world, including Joey Chestnut.
Bosa said he “loves” pistachios.
“Not a lot of times you get to work with a company that you actually really enjoy and that you use on a daily basis, so I thought that was pretty exciting,” Bosa said. “I’m a competitor in everything, so I thought that I’d be up to the challenge. I think it’s gonna get me out of my comfort zone, so it should be a fun, new experience for me.”
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for the Bosa family, as Joey’s brother Nick, one of the league’s best pass-rushers with the 49ers, recently lost Super Bowl 2024 to the Chiefs.
Joey certainly knows the feeling.
“Disappointing ending, but had a good weekend out there [in Las Vegas] with family and friends,” Joey said. “I think [Nick’s] finally getting over it a little bit, it was a heartbreaker. But if anybody knows what it’s like to lose a close game to the Chiefs, it’s me, I’ve been there once before.”