Is Madison Beer distracting Justin Herbert? His coach has thoughts — and they're not what you'd expect

Justin Herbert missed a couple of the Chargers' voluntary workouts recently. For most NFL quarterbacks, that's a non-story. For Herbert, a man so obsessively dedicated to football that his coach Jim Harbaugh has reportedly woken up at 3am thinking about getting him to the Hall of Fame, it sent fans into a quiet panic. The reason for his absence? He was out on the road supporting girlfriend Madison Beer's music tour. Harbaugh's response when asked about it? He offered Herbert a ride to the airport.Let's be clear about what actually happened here. Herbert told Harbaugh in advance he wouldn't be around for two weeks. Harbaugh, whose entire personality is built around worshipping at the altar of Justin Herbert, said: "My first reaction was, do you need a ride to the airport?" He then spent the rest of his press conference reminding everyone that Herbert broke his hand once and showed up to practice the next day. That he attends every voluntary and non-voluntary workout without fail. That there have been times Harbaugh wanted to physically shoo him out of the building. Two missed voluntary sessions while supporting his girlfriend on tour is, in Harbaugh's world, basically a spa day. Herbert is back at practice now, and Harbaugh confirmed it with the energy of a proud dad whose kid finally went outside.For the first five years of his career, Justin Herbert was the most aggressively private star quarterback in the NFL. No personality, no press, no social media presence worth mentioning. Then Madison Beer happened. Suddenly, Herbert is starring in her Lovergirl music video, posting birthday tributes calling her "my favourite person of all time," and getting photographed courtside at NBA games and across Europe. Sound familiar? It should. Travis Kelce was a beloved but relatively contained NFL star until Taylor Swift showed up, and then he became one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet. The pop star girlfriend effect is real, it is documented, and Justin Herbert is its newest case study. Harbaugh isn't worried about the distraction. If anything, a Herbert who has finally learned to live a little might just be the most dangerous version of him yet.