6 pivotal questions heading into the Chargers offseason

The Chargers need to nail the offseason in order to get back to their winning ways.

A week after the regular season came to an end, the Chargers are already hard at work preparing for how their team might look during the 2021 season.

Here are six of the top questions surrounding Los Angeles entering the offseason:

1. Who will be the head coach?

The Chargers and Anthony Lynn ended a four-year marriage after the second consecutive season of underwhelming results. The inconsistent play-calling and game management was the reason that Lynn got the boot, and Los Angeles making sure there isn’t a repeat of that.

Los Angeles is not only looking for someone to maximize rookie sensation Justin Herbert’s potential, but someone who can oversee the team, not just one side of the ball or the other. Along with that, someone who is quick to make changes when an area is not going as planned, such as special teams.

The current favorite to get the job is Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, given his success with QB Josh Allen and the close ties he has to general manager Tom Telesco. There are plenty of other intriguing options that could get the job, too, including 49ers’ Robert Saleh, Colts’ Matt Eberflus and Titans’ Arthur Smith.

Then comes the rest of the staff. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is still under contract. Whoever is hired, will they elect to keep Steichen as the offensive coordinator, given his success with quarterback Justin Herbert. Maybe they promote quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton? Or, will they bring in someone from another team?

2. Who will be re-signed?

Like last offseason, the Chargers will have a slew of starters whose contracts are up. The crop includes tight end Hunter Henry, cornerback Michael Davis, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, edge defender Melvin Ingram, linebacker Denzel Perryman, center Dan Feeney, guard Forrest Lamp and tackle Sam Tevi.

Out of the bunch, I expect Telesco to look to re-sign Henry, Davis, Jenkins, Feeney and Perryman. Henry has been a key contributor in the passing and run game. At only 26, his best years are still ahead of him. Davis and Jenkins were arguably the two best players in the secondary. While inconsistent, Feeney has been durable as can be. Perryman played one of his best seasons.

Ingram is one of the more notables, but I believe the injuries and lack of production (zero sacks and four QB hits) in a contract year hindered his chances of getting an extension. Plus, the team may believe that Uchenna Nwosu is capable of taking the starting role.

3. How will the offensive line be re-shaped?

Last offseason, it appeared that the Chargers hit a home run with the acquisitions of tackle Bryan Bulaga and guard Trai Turner. However, it didn’t pay off during the regular season, as the two only managed to play 10 and nine games, respectively, due to injuries.

As for the rest of the line, Tevi was arguably the most consistent. While he managed to play every game, Lamp had his struggles, particularly in pass protection. Feeney’s play was up and down. OT Trey Pipkins didn’t improve much from last season. Storm Norton impressed in his limited action.

All in all, the line needs some remodeling. Los Angeles could draft a starting left tackle in the first two rounds and depth with another pick or two. With roughly $23 million in cap space, they could find a starting left guard in free agency and use of that money to find a reliable depth piece for cheap.

At his end-of-season press conference, Telesco says there is a lot of improvements that needs to happen with the offensive line. He has struggled to build a competent offensive line since the start of his tenure. Can he finally do it this year?

4. How will the draft be attacked?

The Chargers have two additional draft picks, one third-round compensatory from the Colts acquisition of QB Philip Rivers and a sixth-round via the Titans (cornerback Desmond King trade).

With nine picks, this could be a make or break draft for Telesco. He is tasked with finding at least two offensive lineman, a potential replacement for Ingram, a starting caliber cornerback, another weapon or two for Herbert and depth players that can be special teams aces from Day 1.

5. Will any players be cut?

Telesco has seen players walk in free agency that eventually find success elsewhere, but he hasn’t been notorious for cutting those who are still under contract. Could that change this year? Two players come to mind: Turner, cornerback Casey Hayward.

Turner only saw the field nine times this past season. They would save $11.5 million in cap space with no dead money if they cut him. Hayward’s play was disappointing, too. The team would save $9.75 million in cap space with a $2 million dead-money charge this offseason if they cut Hayward.

6. What will the defense look like?

With Lynn gone, that likely means that defensive coordinator Gus Bradley will be finding a new home, too. The past four years under Bradley, the Chargers ran a heavy Cover 3 scheme that was fixed on zone coverages.

Whoever the new head coach brings in as the new defensive coordinator is and the system they implement will be enticing. Should they stick with a similar scheme or shift to a different one, maybe a more pressure oriented defense that is multiple?

This will all have an impact on the players that they’re looking to target in free agency and the draft. Before, it was easy to diagnose if they were a fit. But with no set defensive coordinator, we don’t know what kind of players and prospects fit the bill.

Requirements of Chargers’ next head coach described

Change is coming for the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers won’t be so quick to hire someone to fill the head coaching vacancy.

According to NFL Media’s Jim Trotter, Los Angeles is expected to interview 10-12 candidates for their head coach job.

Trotter notes that owner Dean Spanos will be more involved in the hiring process. When Lynn was hired in 2017, he allowed his son, John and general manager Tom Telesco to oversee it while he was dealing with stadium situation.

The composition of the staff will be a vital factor with whoever they are set to hire. When Lynn was onboard, an issue was loyalty to his staff. He saw problems but was slow to make needed changes.

For example, the special teams unit was an ongoing problem dating back to the beginning of the 2020 season and Lynn didn’t make the personnel change of demoting coordinator George Stewart until the end of November.

L.A. will be looking for someone to continue to develop rookie sensation Justin Herbert. Along with that, the initial focus will be on someone who can oversee the team, not just one side of the ball or the other.

Chargers HC Anthony Lynn not concerned about job status

Days from now, we will know the fate of coach Anthony Lynn.

The fate of coach Anthony Lynn will be decided in just a few days.

Despite winning the last three games, question still remains whether Los Angeles will elect to fire Lynn after the season finale against the Chiefs.

The question of his job security came up at Wednesday’s media availability.

“I am not concerned about that. I am concerned about Kansas City,” Lynn said.

Lynn added that he has not received indication if he will be back as the head coach in 2021 by the Spanos Family.

After going 9-7 and 12-4 in his first two season, the last two seasons have been a downward spiral for Lynn. L.A. finished 5-11 last season and are going to finish under .500 this year.

Injuries are a reason to blame for their underwhelming seasons, but Lynn’s own decisions have held the team back. Multiple poor game management decisions and questionable play calls have negatively impacted the Bolts.

The Chargers have blown a handful of leads and have had a copious amount of critical errors in vital situations in games.

Lynn has made it clear how he coaches games. I am a firm believer that it won’t be resolved, given how long it’s been going on for, even in their most recent victories.

If the upper management decides to keep him beyond this season, their reasoning could be despite the outcome of the season, Lynn was a part of the development of frontrunner Offensive Rookie of the Year, Justin Herbert, and changing coaches might hinder his rapid growth.

“Coach Lynn’s been awesome,” Herbert said. “Him and I, we’ve gotten really close over these past couple of months. He’s always out on the field and whether he’s helping the running backs, the offensive line, the quarterbacks — he’s been doing a great job of stepping into our meetings and telling us exactly what he wants and how he wants it done. He’s a leader and this team follows him and I really believe in him.”

Report: Chargers won’t make decision on Anthony Lynn until after season

Even after the disastrous loss, Anthony Lynn is still safe.

Anthony Lynn said that he planned to remain the coach of the Chargers when he woke up following the team’s shutout loss to the Patriots on Sunday.

It appears that Lynn will resume his duties not only today, but for the remainders of the 2020 season.

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the organization won’t make a decision on Lynn and his job status until after the season.

Despite the 45-0 loss to New England, Rapoport reports that there’s a ton of respect for Lynn’s leadership ability inside the building. Therefore, Los Angeles is allowing Lynn to run the team, at least for the final four games.

Sitting at 3-9, there’s no need to continue to evaluate the total body of work. The Chargers are already out of playoff contention and Sunday’s loss didn’t help his case to keep his job.

Fans want to see accountability now. Lynn is not the answer for L.A. and there’s nothing that he’s done the past two seasons to show that he’s worth keeping around any longer aside from some motivational speeches that aren’t even put to good use.

Chargers GM Tom Telesco’s seat could be hot

While Anthony Lynn is the one on the hot seat, Tom Telesco should shoulder some of the blame.

All eyes are on head coach Anthony Lynn, who’s job with the Chargers is on the line.

But general manager Tom Telesco is worth being brought up in discussion as a member of the organization who could be unemployed after the season.

Since being hired back in 2013, Telesco went on to hire Mike McCoy, which was short lived after going 9-23. Fast forward to now, Lynn, his second hire, is 29-32 and is likely going to be on his way out after this season.

It’s unlikely that a general manager is allowed to pick a third head coach after the first two proved themselves as incapable to produce a winning track record.

Telesco has only been to the playoffs twice in his eight-year tenure.

Telesco is coveted for landing players like wide receiver Keenan Allen, defensive end Joey Bosa, safety Derwin James and most recently quarterback Justin Herbert in the draft. But he has failed to bring in reliable depth players and it shows.

Offensively, he’s failed to put together a competent offensive line. Instead of getting top talent early on, he’s banked on mid to late rounders in hopes of them developing. That hasn’t paid off, especially when you have your quarterback running for his life all game.

Defensively, Telesco has prioritized that side of the ball, both in free agency and the draft. But the impact that the majority of those players have made has been minimal, as seen when they’re called upon when injuries have occurred.

That all ties into special teams. It’s been practice squad players that have been tasked with attempting to get the job done. The result? Ranked last in the NFL. It also doesn’t help when safety Adrian Phillips and fullback Derek Watt, two key special teamers from previous seasons, were let go of.

Don’t get me wrong, Telesco has brought in a lot of talent at various positions. But when the team has suffered back-to-back underwhelming seasons, you have to turn your attention to the man in charge of the football operations department, not solely the coaching.

When the 2020 season ends, it might not just be Lynn out of a job. Telesco might be shown the door, too.

4 takeaways from Chargers’ loss to Patriots

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez breaks down Los Angeles’ embarrassing loss to New England in Week 13.

The Chargers were embarrassed by the Patriots, suffering their worst defeat in the team history on Sunday, 45-0.

Here are four things that I took away from Los Angeles’ Week 13 loss:

Worst performance yet

Prior to the game, coach Bill Belichick had the highest praise for quarterback Justin Herbert. While everything he said about his strengths sounded good, Belichick is notorious for exploiting rookie signal-caller’s weaknesses, which is what he did on Sunday afternoon.

The Patriots gave Herbert no room to breathe, pressuring him 26 times, hitting him 11 times and sacking him three times. As a result, the 22-year old completed only 26 of his career-high 53 attempts for just 209 yards and two interceptions.

With how bad the deficit was and how much of a beating Herbert was taking, there was absolutely zero reason for him to stay on the field.

Following the game, coach Anthony Lynn said that he “wanted to be in the game with his teammates.” Herbert told reporters that he didn’t recall having a conversation with Lynn about coming out of the game,

“I can’t really remember the situation on the sideline,” Herbert said. “I just knew I was going to go back in, kind of regardless of what the situation was. I was going to be out there with the team.”

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