Jim Harbaugh and the L.A. Chargers' first year together is going better than many were expecting ... and Shawne Merriman's thrilled about it -- 'cause he told everyone who would listen before the season he knew they'd be good!
The ex-pass rusher sat down with TMZ Sports just prior to the Bolts' 2024 kickoff -- and he was adamant back then that his former team had a real chance to make a run to the AFC Championship game.
This week, when we caught back up with him -- he gloated about his preseason forecast -- telling us that after being around the team in the summer, he just had a real feeling this Chargers team could be a Super Bowl contender.
"The energy in that building was completely different," he said, "and now I think everybody's seeing it."
The Chargers are currently 6-3 and are heading into a very tough part of their schedule -- they've got tilts with the Bengals, Ravens and Chiefs on the horizon -- but Merriman isn't backing off his September predictions one bit ... telling us he's still super bullish on the Bolts.
"Don't count them out to go deep in the playoffs and find themselves in the AFC Championship game," he said. "They have that type of team, they have that type of coaching staff. And we said it before, but I think they have a real shot to go all the way."