Hardwick On Coaching Role & Harbaugh | LA Chargers

Hardwick On Coaching Role & Harbaugh | LA Chargers

welcome back hi Haley hello Nick uh does not feel like it’s been that long but amazing that you are now back in the fold with the Chargers how did this come to be I knew the Chargers were going through a coaching change obviously after the season and I made a phone call and said I’d like to be considered potentially for an assistant offensive line job and I was told to be patient okay I was patient and then eventually I got a call from our general man manager and then I got a call from our head coach and got offered a position and here we are the rest is history yes I love this because I actually just sat down with Navaro Bowman and he kind of said the same thing this great lesson actually for anyone who wants a job to kind of plant the seeds early see what happens and then here you are and I know for Navaro this is the case too is that you’ve got such a passion for it and his work really spoke for itself you know how he was as a player and the way that he prepared and having been with Coach Harbaugh before really laid the foundation for that and I obviously spent quite a few years with this organization and when people know how you work and Trust the way that you work they have confidence in recommending you for a position so I’m really thankful for that I’m really thankful for the way that I approached my previous line of work and and here we are you’ve worn a lot of different hats for this team whether it’s the player side the media side now the coaching decide why did you though want to take this leap into coaching in the NFL there’s nothing that’s ever going to replace being a player ever and I searched long and hard for 9 years to find something that was a suitable replacement and this is as close as I can get to being in the locker room to being with the guys to Preparing with a sense of urgency and being a part of a mission and having a really strong goal with other people there’s nothing like that it does show though how you guys do miss it though once you’re out of it when I stopped playing I realized years later like what I felt when I got done playing was the first time that I had ever been truly heartbroken really everything that you had worked for everything that you had ever wanted to be you were you with your friends every day you had a really strong identity wrapped into the fabric of what you did and gave you great purpose to wake up every morning and you just when I played there was never an option to hit the snooze button there was never oh maybe today I’ll call in sick you’ve got guys dependent on you and it’s awesome it’s awesome to have that feeling who have you drawn on as inspiration now in this role as a coach I mean I’m surrounded by guys that are great Inspirations just across the board starting with our head offensive line coach Mike develin so Mike was the guy that I trained with in between college and becoming a pro you know you get these small world small world the universeal lines everything comes together and here we are and I couldn’t have a better Mentor as I’m stepping into this and then Andy bishof Greg Roman Marcus Brady Shane day sanj Lao Kyle McDonald you got guys everywhere and then we go obviously Coach Harbaugh when he called you know I’m I you missed the first one right Miss I did miss the first one I got a text that said hey coach is trying to call you right now and when he called and eventually offered the position I don’t even know if it was an option to turn it down it’s like Coach Harbaugh called you’re doing it yeah do you win the position yes I do thank you okay we’ll see you out here yes how quickly do I need to be there yeah with though working under him now what’s that been like I’m sure you knew of him your team’s played against him just the level of success that he’s been able to attain everywhere and that’s not fluky mhm that’s because he’s got a system he’s got a way of doing business his approach is hitting right every everywhere he’s been and just to be around that what an opportunity offensive line is a big focal point and you played on some really good ones obviously when you were here but kind of maybe I feel like that’s kind of coming back a little bit sort of the it’s cool to be an offensive line want to be an offensive lineman again H yeah you want to be a Chargers offensive lineman this is where it’s at right here we’ve got great room great guys and yeah when you’ve got that kind of commitment obviously you go out and use the number five pick of the draft yeah real casual I saw you that day and I’m like what a gift yes which isn’t yeah exactly it is a gift it’s it’s not a sexy draft pick you know but when you realize that you’re building a really stable foundation for the future it becomes pretty sexy you know to have stability and strength and building the team from the inside out which I’ve always thought is the right way to do it you build it from here and then you can add on as we go you and I have had many conversations with also some of your former teammates about the Chargers offensive lines that you played on and how good they were back then what can you maybe take from what you learned and now parlay it out here and as as an assistant coach with a group that you’re working with what do I give I don’t know I’ll give my all we’ll find out I’ll give my all I know that and that’s all you can do right is show up and give your best and learn to be a good coach and give them everything you have every day I know you’ve talked a lot in the past too about those groups that you were on you guys kind of got to grow up together and grow together and really stay together this is a pretty young offensive line that would you say has that opportunity as well they do have that opportunity yeah what it’s so cool because the more you do together the more you experience together the more you care for one another the more you’re willing to do when it comes out here the more you’re willing to do when it comes to your preparation the more you’re willing to sacrifice anything for your brother how much of being in the meeting rooms and being back on this field takes you back and it almost does it feel like kind of a full circle like you’re a rookie again sort of learning the ropes out here of coaching too it’s weird because you you almost feel like I didn’t leave yeah so got to be a good feeling I just feel at home there’s no I don’t feel out of place I just I guess I was born to be an offensive lineman and be in the room and it just feels very natural the last thing Nick is you again we talked about it but spent many years with this team Jim Harbaugh spent time with this team you guys know the charger way how special is it for you to be able to carry that on now as a coach with these guys out here I thought a lot about it and it hit me how much this this team not just this sport or the NFL but like this team me means a lot to me and had a lot of great times playing here charger fans are witnesses to history so I really care for this and I care for the success of this team this organization and I want these guys to experience the times that we had I think any Charter fan watching this loves to hear that we’re going to we’re going to work to do better than us go a little bit further there you go Nick welcome back welcome home thanks Haley appreciate you [Music]

LA Chargers assistant offensive line coach Nick Hardwick sits down with Hayley Elwood and breaks down his reaction to his new coaching role on the Bolts and his excitement to join Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. He discusses his close relationship with Philip Rivers throughout his career, how it feels to return to the Chargers, and what he values in offensive line play.

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