The NFL is such a fast-paced, results oriented business that hard decisions are often made quick and sharp. Obviously, coaches aren’t often fired coming off a win. However, that’s exactly what happened Monday evening.
While in the wake of their 17-16 win at Soldier Field, the Los Angeles Chargers fired offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. He has served at that position in the organization since 2016, which is a decent tenure for any coach to be in one spot in the NFL. Furthermore, he had a close relationship with face-of-the-franchise quarterback Philip Rivers.
Now, the Chargers are without an offensive coordinator. Presumably head coach Anthony Lynn could call the plays moving forward and has experience in that role. For instance, Lynn served as offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 2016. As of now, no replacement has been named.
Official Release: https://t.co/94Ao8KYM1Y
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 29, 2019
Perhaps Lynn was given the choice of firing his coach or being shown the door himself. To say the least, expectations are not being met by the 3-5 Chargers in 2019.
“This is not an easy decision and definitely not one that I take lightly,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said in a statement. “You win as a team, and you lose as a team. It’s never about just one person. At the end of the day, however, I simply felt a change was needed at this time. I want to thank Ken for his years of service to the Chargers organization and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Thus far, Los Angeles is scoring just 19.6 points per contest, ranking 23rd in the NFL. Other numbers under review don’t help the case of the offense much either. While having a red-zone percentage of 70.4, they rank 31st in the league in that category. Also, they’re 28th in yards per rush, and their 13 turnovers are 23rd ranking in the league.
All of this adds up to what gets a coach or several coaches fired. Still, Los Angeles has a second half of the season to turn things around. Remember, they have Rivers, Melvin Gordon, and Keenan Allen on offense. That’s more than enough to create a little magic. With Patrick Mahomes still out of action for their division rival, expect the Chargers to be in the mix and make things interesting as usual down the stretch.
