Tag: Derius Swinton II

Chargers hire Ryan Ficken as special teams coordinator

The Chargers have a new special teams coordinator.

After allowing time for the dust of the 2021 season to settle, it became clear that the Chargers needed help in the special teams department. Fast.

Los Angeles announced Thursday that Ryan Ficken will join the staff as the team’s new special teams coordinator. The hiring was initially reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Ficken replaces Derius Swinton II after just a single season.

Ficken has spent the last eight years as an assistant special teams coach with the Minnesota Vikings. Ficken also served on the Vikings staff as wide receivers and running backs coach from 2007-12. He was a graduate assistant at UCLA before starting his career coaching professional football.

Pelissero also mentioned the Vikings originally blocked Ficken from interviewing, but persistence from the Chargers resulted in him being allowed to pursue the opportunity.

On the offensive side of the ball, things were sound. Kick returner Andre Roberts ranked first in the league with a 32.8-yard return average. Placekicker Dustin Hopkins made 18 of 20 field goals and 30 of 32 extra points after he was picked up by the team in Week 8. 

However, Los Angeles ranked last in net punting last season. Starter Ty Long averaged 36.8 yards per boot on 47 attempts, pinning just 11 inside the 20-yard line. 

Under Ficken’s oversight on the Vikings, kicker Greg Joseph led the NFC and ranked fifth in the league with 33 made field goals. Punter Jordan Berry finished the season 13th in net punt average. Minnesota churned out a second-place finish in kick return average and scored twice on kickoffs.

Based on how highly the Chargers viewed Ficken and their efforts to draw him away from the Vikings, expect him to stabilize a unit that was wildly inconsistent and turn it into an asset. 

Chargers interview Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey

The Chargers are in the process of filling the special teams coordinator vacancy.

After parting ways with Derius Swinton II, the Chargers are now in the process of filling the vacancy.

According to Orange County Register’s Gilbert Manzano, Los Angeles interviewed Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey for the same position.

Before joining New York in 2018, McGaughey had stints in the same role with the Jets (2014), 49ers (2015), and Panthers (2016-17).

Under McGaughey, the Giants ranked third in 2018, 17th in 2019, 12th in 2020, and 11th in 2021 in special teams DVOA.

Further, Carolina’s special teams ranked ninth in 2017.

3 candidates Chargers could consider to fill special teams coordinator vacancy

A look at some potential candidates, as the Chargers look to replace former special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II.

After just one season, the Chargers let go of special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II and assistant special teams coordinator Mayur Chaudhari.

Despite making strides during the season’s final stretch after the additions of returner Andre Roberts and kicker Dustin Hopkins, Los Angeles finished the season 28th in special teams EPA and DVOA.

Now, the search for their replacements begins. With that being said, here are four candidates that Brandon Staley could consider hiring.

Joe Judge

Before being relieved by the Giants as their head coach, Judge spent 2015-2019 with the Patriots as the special teams coordinator. Under Judge’s guidance, New England’s special teams ranked in the Top 10 in each of his five seasons as coordinator, according to Pro Football Focus. New England’s special teams was key in winning Super Bowl LIII, as the punt coverage team forced the Rams to start three of their drives inside their own 10-yard line. In 2019, the Patriots ranked first in average starting field position (32.7) and in opponent starting field position (25.1). They blocked two that were returned for touchdowns. New England never allowed a punt to be returned for 20+ yards.

Chris Tabor

Familiarity is a major factor when considering position vacancies, and Staley knows Tabor dating back to his time when he served as the Bears’ outside linebackers coach in 2018. Tabor is one of the more established special teams coordinators to the point where he’s being considered for a head coaching position (Panthers). But his resume speaks for itself, so it’s no surprise. The Bears ranked seventh in special teams EPA and DVOA. Chicago’s punt-return unit finished in the top 10 three of his four seasons with the team. Further, Chicago finished fourth in the NFL in punt-return average in 2021 (11.7 yards per return), 12th in kickoff-return average (23.1 yards) and they were one of just two teams with a punt return for a touchdown, with the other being the Rams.

Jeff Rodgers

Staley and Rodgers were a part of the Bears’ staff in 2017, the year the team tied for the most three special teams touchdowns (3). There are also some family ties as Jeff is the brother of Chargers defensive line coach, Jay Rodgers. Rodgers has 20 years of coaching experience under his belt, having spent time with the 49ers, Panthers, Broncos, Bears, and currently the Cardinals, as special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. After overtaking Arizona’s department in 2018, it ranked fifth after finishing 30th the year before. In 2019, kicker Zane Gonzalez ranked fourth in the NFL in both total points (127) and made fields (31) while punter Andy Lee ranked second in the NFL with a 47.8-yard punting average, according to the team’s website. The Cardinals ranked 12th in punt-return average (9.2) and 13th in kickoff-return defense (21.05) this season.

 

Updates on Chargers’ special teams position battles

Find out which kicker has the leg up and which return specialist is emerging.

Improving the special teams is one of the Chargers’ priorities ahead of the regular season after finishing as the league’s worst last year.

The team brought in a few players in hopes of aiding the department, and now they’re in the midst of position battles to solidify starting spots.

The most compelling is the competition for the starting kicker between the returner, Michael Badgley and the newcomers, Tristan Vizcaino and Alex Kessman.

The past two days at camp the team has kicked field goals, and it has been neck and neck.

Badgley made all five of his attempts — 32 yards, 36 yards, 55 yards, 49 yards and 52 yards. He did not kick on Tuesday.

Vizcaino is currently 9-for-10 — hitting from 33 yards, 41 yards, 45 yards, 49 yards and 52 yards yesterday. Today, he made his kicks from 40 yards, 44 yards, 48 yards and 51 yards and missed from 33 yards.

Kessman did not kick on Monday. On Tuesday, he went 4-for-5, hitting from 33 yards, 40 yards, 48 yards and 51 yards, with his miss coming from 44 yards.

Vizcaino appears to have the strongest leg out of the bunch.

Entering camp, the return specialist spots were wide open, but Austin Proehl appears to be moving the needle. Not only has he done well with the special teams unit, Proehl is proving himself as a pass-catching option.

Proehl, the free agent acquisition, has consistently been open, has caught nearly everything thrown his way and has found the end zone on multiple occasions.

Today at media availability, special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II named Larry Rountree III, K.J. Hill and Proehl as other options at kick returner aside from Nasir Adderley.

Chargers rookies understanding value of special teams

The first-year players get that jobs are won based on how they do on special teams units.

First-year players enter the NFL with the expectations of seeing the field at their perspective positions early on. However, the chances of that occurring are slim. Instead, they must prove their worths on special teams.

Special teams is important because it’s a stepping stool which works to help young players get acclimated to the speed of the game, one of the biggest adjustments to coming into this league.

For the Chargers, it’s especially vital after finishing as the worst special teams unit last season. The team is optimistic that this year’s rookie class will be able to aide in that department moving forward.

“All of the rookie class, they’ve really been good at absorbing the things that we’ve been putting in,” special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II said. “I think that they can all contribute at some point.”

In particular, two players highlighted by Swinton that have grasped the concepts quickly are Chris Rumph II and Nick Niemann due to their collegiate experiences at Duke and Iowa.

An undrafted rookie who is looking to earn a spot on the 53-man roster is Amen Ogbongbemiga, who has also caught the eye of Swinton.

While the majority of the rookies may not get snaps early on, that could change at any given time based on how they perform at simply covering a kick.

Chargers undrafted rookie draws praise from special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II

The Los Angeles Chargers could have a special teams standout on their hands.

One of the areas that the Chargers will need to make sure they are equipped with this upcoming season is special teams competency after finishing as the worst unit in 2020.

Los Angeles has steadily brought in players this offseason that they’re confident will aide in that department, and one of them could be an undrafted rookie.

At Tuesday’s media availability, special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II said former Oklahoma State linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga has been a player that has stood out thus far during rookie minicamp and OTAs.

Ogbongbemiga finished as the second-leading tackler for the Cowboys in 2019 and 2020, making a combined 181 stops. Prior to working his way to the field, he was a special teams standout his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Ogbongbemiga, who amassed over 500 special teams snaps in college, would unlikely get snaps at linebacker, but his range and solid tackling ability would make him a valuable asset on coverage units from Day 1.

Chargers in search of special teams proficiency this offseason

The Los Angeles Chargers have areas they need to address this offseason and special teams sits near the top of the list.

As the Chargers reflect what they need to accomplish this offseason, one of the things that the team needs to make sure they are confident they come away with is special teams competency.

A combination of poor coverage and return skills, bone-headed penalties, kicking woes and a coaching change led to Los Angeles having the worst special teams unit in the NFL last season and the third-worst special teams unit ever tracked by DVOA.

The first step to fixing the broken special teams department was head coach Brandon Staley hiring Derius Swinton II as the new coordinator.

Swinton has 13 years as a special teams coach under his belt. He previously served as the Cardinals’ assistant special teams coach. Swinton has worked as the 49ers’ special teams coordinator in addition to coaching with the Bears, Broncos, Chiefs and Rams.

Swinton is confident that he will be able fix what went wrong with the players that were a part of the disastrous product. But the team can’t solely rely on that. Instead, they must target experienced players via free agency and the draft to give Swinton to work with.

Among the acquisitions L.A. could make is another kicker to compete with Michael Badgley. Things were looking good for Badgley at the beginning of the 2020 season, but things got shaky as the year went on. He missed a combined 12 kicks between field goals and extra points.

Another thing is establishing consistent return specialists. Joe Reed, Tyron Johnson and Nasir Adderley each received reps as the team’s kick returner while Desmond King (before he was traded) and K.J. Hill served as the punt returners, where he only averaged 6.92 yards per return.

Finding quality depth players that are physical, aggressive and most importantly, proven tacklers is also another key part of the team’s evaluation process to help upgrade their coverage unit on kick and punt returns.

Improving this department can go a long way to having a successful season in 2021 and beyond.

Takeaways from new Chargers coaching staff

The Chargers coaching staff for the 2021 season is very well-rounded.

New Chargers head coach Brandon Staley introduced his first coaching staff on Thursday.

The staff is headed by the coordinators: Joe Lombardi on offense, Renaldo Hill on defense and Derius Swinton II on special teams.

Offense: Lombardi comes to Los Angeles with plenty of years working with quarterback Drew Brees. While his time as the offensive coordinator for the Lions was considered a bust, he has learned from his stint. The plan is to mesh with worked for quarterback Justin Herbert last year and what Lombardi picked up from Sean Payton when he was in New Orleans.

Passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Shane Day will also be vital to Herbert’s development after he had the luxury of learning under Pep Hamilton last season. Day coached under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, so he brings some experience under his system, which has had success in years prior.

Improving the offensive line will be a key focal point heading into the new season, and the additions of Frank Smith and Shane Sarrett are already a plus. Smith has worked with members of the Raiders and Saints. Meanwhile, Sarrett was responsible of grooming players on the Steelers offensive line, all of whom boasted some of the league’s top offensive lines.

The group is very diverse. Aside from quarterbacks, Day has coached offensive lineman, tight ends in his time coaching in the NFL. Smith worked with tight ends during his time in Las Vegas, aiding in the development of All-Pro TE Darren Waller.

Defense: Even though Hill has the title of defensive coordinator under his name, Staley will be the one responsible for calling the defensive plays. Nonetheless, he will bring his expertise with defensive backs to the team and will have an input on game days while Staley calls plays.

Los Angeles goes into the season with the intentions of playing in a 3-4 defense. Hill said that they don’t want the defense to entice offenses to throw on them, noting the high level of QB play in the NFL, adding they can do that by always showing a Cover 2 shell and changing post-snap.

Defending the pass will be a vital, but stopping the run will be just as important. Run game coordinator/outside linebackers coach Jay Rodgers is a key addition. Rodgers was responsible of working with the Bears and Broncos, both of whom boasted some of the league’s top defensive lines.

The new positional coaches have had plenty of success in the past with their perspective teams. Linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite had an integral role with the Saints. Secondary coach Derrick Ansley has worked with the Raiders and at the collegiate level, specifically with Tennessee and Alabama, including star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Defensive line coach Giff Smith was a member who was retained. Smith has played a role in the stardom of edge defender Joey Bosa.

Special Teams: Like the offensive line, this will be another focal point after finishing last in the league in this department. Swinton comes with plenty of experience as a special teams coordinator. Staley said the goal is to try to model the game management method that he became familiar with he was with the Cardinals. Also brought on was Mayur Chaudhari, who had success during his time with the Falcons.

Report: Derius Swinton II joining Chargers as special teams coordinator

The Los Angeles Chargers hired a new special teams coordinator.

In 2020, the Chargers finished with the third-worst special teams unit ever tracked by DVOA.

To make sure that the unit is in better shape moving forward, Los Angeles is putting the trust in Derius Swinton II.

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, L.A. is hiring Swinton as the team’s new special teams coordinator, marking head coach Brandon Staley’s first coordinator acquisition.

Swinton has an extensive background as a special teams coach. He previously served as the Cardinals’ assistant special teams coach. Swinton has worked as the 49ers’ special teams coordinator in addition to coaching with the Bears, Broncos, Chiefs and Rams.

There’s some familiarity between Staley and Swinton, as the two were on Chicago’s staff together in 2017.

Swinton played college football at Hampton University in Virginia from 2003 to 2006, where he tallied 103 tackles, 19 passes defensed and eight interceptions.