Center Bradley Bozeman is back with a Harbaugh as his NFL head coach. Will that mean a return to winning for the former Alabama standout?
“I know what the Harbaugh family is about and how hard-nosed they are and how they are winners,” Bozeman said in a Q-and-A for the Los Angeles Chargers’ website. “I want to win a Super Bowl and do a lot of really great things. We’re only given a sliver of time to play football, and I want to maximize my opportunity.”
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Bozeman joined the Chargers this offseason after being released by the Carolina Panthers, and he’s expected to start at center for Los Angeles.
During Bozeman’s two seasons with Carolina, the Panthers posted a 9-25 record under four coaches – two head coaches fired during the season and two interim coaches.
Bozeman played his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Under coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens had a 43-22 regular-season record and went to the playoffs three times with Bozeman on the squad.
After a 5-12 showing in 2023, the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh to be their head coach after he guided Michigan to the CFP national championship last season.
“I haven’t been able to nail that one down yet,” Bozeman said when asked about the difference between the coaching brothers. “I know that Jim played the game at a professional level, so maybe some of the viewpoints change a little. But other than that, I think they’re both great coaches. I’m excited to have played under both of them and are excited to see what we can do this season.”
In 2023, the Chargers finished 25th among the NFL’s 32 teams in rushing yards and were 27th in yards per carry and first downs produced by rushing plays.
Jim Harbaugh wants to improve those numbers and has put the onus on the offensive line.
“If I asked you the question of what position group depends on no other position group to be good, but every other position group depends on them to be good, what position group is that?” Harbaugh said this offseason. “The offensive line. The offensive line doesn’t need any other position group to be good, but every other position group relies on the offensive line to be good. The D-line will be the ones to argue back: ‘We don’t need to the offensive line to be good.’ Do you like when the offense has a 12-play drive and field position? Building that kind of offensive line is exciting.”
Bozeman said he embraces the task.
“It puts a lot of confidence and a lot of it on us,” Bozeman said. “I heard what Coach said about the offensive line and how he wants us to be the tip of the spear. As offensive linemen, you love that and the responsibility that comes with that. Just go out and impose your will on teams is the whole ideal about being an offensive lineman. Move people against their will, and we’re going to be committed to that.
“And then we have just an absolute talent of an arm behind us at quarterback, so we’re lucky to have a spectacular pass game as well. To be truly balanced in this league is a great system to be in.”
Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert was Pro Bowler in his second season, when he passed for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2021. Last season, Herbert missed four games and had 3,134 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes.
In 2023, Bozeman played all 1,149 of Carolina’s offensive snaps. But the Panthers produced the fewest yards and were tied for the fewest points in the NFL last season, when Carolina’s quarterbacks were sacked 65 times.
Last offseason, Bozeman had signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension with the Panthers that included $10 million in guaranteed money. But the Panthers released him on March 16.
Three days later, Bozeman signed a one-year, $1.125 million contract with the Chargers.
In Los Angeles, Bozeman reunited with Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator during his first three seasons as an NFL starter. Roman holds that position with the Chargers after formerly working in that capacity for the Ravens.
As an NFL rookie, Bozeman played 214 offensive snaps in 14 games with one start. For the next three seasons, he hardly came off the field for the Baltimore offense.
With Bozeman at left guard, the Ravens rushed for more than 3,000 yards in the 2019 and 2020 seasons – two of the six times that has been accomplished in NFL history.
Bozeman shifted to center for Baltimore in 2021 and joined Carolina as an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
A former Handley High School standout, Bozeman served as Alabama’s starting center in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, capping his career in the Crimson Tide’s 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia in the CFP national championship game.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at@AMarkG1.