There wasn’t a question of if Mike McCoy would be given the old heave-ho from the San Diego Chargers this season. They only real bet was if he would make it through the regular season. I made that bet and won, as I’ll detail in this week’s Friday Afternoon Quarterback.
First off, this team needs a coach. Who’s it going to be?
The word in the wind right now is that general manager Tim Telesco wants to keep most, if not all the offensive coaches intact. Philip Rivers and the offense have played well in the system, it’s been the defense that he feels needs a significant upgrade. That’s good news for offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt to stay employed, but if he was thinking about getting a promotion like Ben McAdoo and Dirk Koetter did last year, he can forget it.
NEWS: The San Diego Chargers have requested to meet with Carolina Panthers DC Sean McDermott for their HC job, per sources. @NFLonFOX @gmfb
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) January 4, 2017
San Diego opened up their coaching search requesting interviews with Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Taub.
Since then other candidates have emerged in New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith and Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. You can see a pattern here.
I like Joseph and Patricia here and, really, San Diego should be a fantastic job for anybody. Pundits like to throw out the fact the team might be moving, but, come on. They’d move up the road to Los Angeles. It’s not exactly like they’ll be planning an expedition to Alaska, for God’s sake.
#Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub will interview with the #Broncos on Friday and then he has the #Chargers on Sunday, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2017
What the new head coach will take over in San Diego is a team with a loaded, plug and play offense run by one of the best quarterbacks, Philip Rivers, in the NFL. His job will be to rebuild the defense and Patricia, especially, seems to be able to form a solid, cohesive unit with less.
On the personnel side, the Chargers look to have $22.7 million in available cap money for next season. They can free up more money with a few key cuts. Wideout Stevie Johnson alone frees up $3.5 million and he never played a down this season. Back up safety Darrel Stuckey will probably be a cap casualty too, freeing up another $2.9 million.
#Chargers won't force assistants on a new HC but they value their offensive staff. Good chance Whisenhunt & co stay with def & ST candidates
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2017
The Chargers have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to their own free agents. Three starters and plenty of role players have contracts wrapping up this season, including fan favorite third down back and fantasy football season ruiner Danny Woodhead. Two starting linebackers, Melvin Ingram and Manti Te’o are both set to be free agents as is starting safety Jahleel Addae.
In the upcoming NFL draft, the Chargers have their complete set of picks and could end up with as many as three compensatory picks. The pick seventh so they’re not only guaranteed one of the Top 10 players in the draft, they’ll have the ammunition if they want to trade up for Jonathan Allen from Alabama or Myles Garrett from Texas A&M.
The Chargers have decent starters at every position on defense, they just need a better coach and a better scheme. They really don’t have to target too many specific positions in free agency and the draft, though they should definitely look at an offensive tackle and the defensive line.
The #Jaguars are interviewing #Bucs DC Mike Smith tomorrow, sources say. He’s well-positioned there. Will interview with #Chargers, too.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2017
This could be a good landing spot for Chance Warmack from the Tennessee Titans and Sebastian Vollmer from the New England Patriots. With the draft set up in their favor, they don’t have to get involved in the first free agent crush and can instead plug holes in their roster after the draft.
If the Chargers don’t move around in the draft, they should be able to get a guy like Alabama’s Rueben Foster at No. 7, or even a Jabril Peppers if he drops and there’s a run on QBs and DEs early. Jamal Adams, safety from LSU, would also be a solid pick.
In the second round? How about Clemson defensive tackle Carlos Watkins or Florida State offensive tackle Roderick Johnson? This is deep draft and the Chargers can stand pat and really upgrade their entire team without spending a penny of free agent money. The opportunity is there, for the Chargers and their new head coach, to make the playoffs in their first year together like the Miami Dolphins and Adam Gase did this season.
To make a wager on this week’s NFL games, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.
