Time to fire Lynn & Bradley

[Chargers]

It was painfully obvious last year they weren't fit to run this team. We need to start the head coaching search soon.

[BoltsFan937]

47 minutes ago, Chargers said:

It was painfully obvious last year they weren't fit to run this team. We need to start the head coaching search soon.

Outcoached every week....

[BoltsFan937]

6-14 over our last 20 games with 7 straight divisional losses. 4 of those wins were over Miami, Jacksonville, Chicago and Cincinnati. Beat Indy first game of ‘19 and Green Bay must have been asleep when they came out last year. That’s it, those are the wins for 2019-2020 so far

[Dr LBC]

1) Rule of thumb is that you don't fire someone on the coaching staff unless you have a viable replacement already on the staff to promote.  Short of promoting Stewart or Ron Milus, the Chargers currently haven't go that on the current staff; and both those guys would be pretty iffy, as is.

2) Spanos always - like it's going out of style - fires coaches a season too late.  I agree that Lynn is not the guy to get the team over the hump.  Good "build a culture" guy, but he maxes out at that.  I kind of hold him in the same vein as a JIm Caldwell (just with more personality) or a Herm Edwards.  I'm only about 50/50 that Spanos would even fire Lynn at the end of this season, particularly since he just got a 1-year extension that runs through 2021 in February.  The only thing Dean hates more than spending money without getting anything in return is admitted he made a mistake (which would be what he'd be admitting by them giving Lynn the extension).

Bradley may go, but there is a shortage of really quality DC's (and the ones that are a fairly entrenched, older, and just going around collecting former DC's to bring in as position coaches to diversify their staffs) in this league right now and as a result a shortage of up-and-coming DC-in-waiting candidates.  Maybe you pry Chris Hewitt or Joe Cullen out of Baltimore, but I wouldn't count on it.  Maybe you manage to get Peter Guinta out of New Orleans.  Maybe.  I struggle to see who else is really out there that's an improvement.  The league has handicapped defenses in favor of ratings and higher-scores (thank the popularity of fantasy football for that).  Guys like Robert Saleh literally come out of nowhere and are about as easy to hit on as finding needles in haystacks.  The best indicator anyone might have had was that he was a defensive quality control under Pete Carroll during the Legion of Boom's hey-day, but even with his success in San Francisco, he's done so with a literal glut of defensive talent (when they were at their most dominant they had four Top 20 picks (3 of them Top 10 picks) on their defensive line.

[pf9]

I think a trade for Sam Darnold this season is in order.

He is an LA native who I think is only struggling for the Jets because he misses LA, and NYC is a much different beast than LA.

If he played for a hometown team, his career could make a huge turnaround.

[pf9]

Homesickness has affected quite a bit of pro sports players over the years.

[Zappaz]

4 hours ago, pf9 said:

I think a trade for Sam Darnold this season is in order.

He is an LA native who I think is only struggling for the Jets because he misses LA, and NYC is a much different beast than LA.

If he played for a hometown team, his career could make a huge turnaround.

And what exactly do we do with him? 

[Leoric]

22 hours ago, The LBC said:

1) Rule of thumb is that you don't fire someone on the coaching staff unless you have a viable replacement already on the staff to promote.  Short of promoting Stewart or Ron Milus, the Chargers currently haven't go that on the current staff; and both those guys would be pretty iffy, as is.

2) Spanos always - like it's going out of style - fires coaches a season too late.  I agree that Lynn is not the guy to get the team over the hump.  Good "build a culture" guy, but he maxes out at that.  I kind of hold him in the same vein as a JIm Caldwell (just with more personality) or a Herm Edwards.  I'm only about 50/50 that Spanos would even fire Lynn at the end of this season, particularly since he just got a 1-year extension that runs through 2021 in February.  The only thing Dean hates more than spending money without getting anything in return is admitted he made a mistake (which would be what he'd be admitting by them giving Lynn the extension).

Bradley may go, but there is a shortage of really quality DC's (and the ones that are a fairly entrenched, older, and just going around collecting former DC's to bring in as position coaches to diversify their staffs) in this league right now and as a result a shortage of up-and-coming DC-in-waiting candidates.  Maybe you pry Chris Hewitt or Joe Cullen out of Baltimore, but I wouldn't count on it.  Maybe you manage to get Peter Guinta out of New Orleans.  Maybe.  I struggle to see who else is really out there that's an improvement.  The league has handicapped defenses in favor of ratings and higher-scores (thank the popularity of fantasy football for that).  Guys like Robert Saleh literally come out of nowhere and are about as easy to hit on as finding needles in haystacks.  The best indicator anyone might have had was that he was a defensive quality control under Pete Carroll during the Legion of Boom's hey-day, but even with his success in San Francisco, he's done so with a literal glut of defensive talent (when they were at their most dominant they had four Top 20 picks (3 of them Top 10 picks) on their defensive line.

Wade is looking for a job and we can get one great year out of him. Give him a single year contract to get that defense moving the needle again. Theres a lot of holes in the roster next year on a team, that wasn't good last year, isn't good this year and the future looks really bleak. With the potential departures of most of the CB's, Melvin Ingram, HH, Tevi, Feeney, Lamp, the lack of a bell cow running back, and Mike Williams. We aren't doing Herbert a whole ton of favors. I really don't even know how to start fixing this team. Lynn is great at taking ownership... something Norv and Milktoast were never going to do but he just doesn't get the results on the field. He isn't a great strategist. I have total faith in his ability to groom young men into being better individuals but don't feel he is the Football mind to get this team out of the dumps. Reminds me of a homeless mans Marty or Jeff Fisher.

[BoltsFan937]

On 10/6/2020 at 2:15 PM, The LBC said:

1) Rule of thumb is that you don't fire someone on the coaching staff unless you have a viable replacement already on the staff to promote.  Short of promoting Stewart or Ron Milus, the Chargers currently haven't go that on the current staff; and both those guys would be pretty iffy, as is.

2) Spanos always - like it's going out of style - fires coaches a season too late.  I agree that Lynn is not the guy to get the team over the hump.  Good "build a culture" guy, but he maxes out at that.  I kind of hold him in the same vein as a JIm Caldwell (just with more personality) or a Herm Edwards.  I'm only about 50/50 that Spanos would even fire Lynn at the end of this season, particularly since he just got a 1-year extension that runs through 2021 in February.  The only thing Dean hates more than spending money without getting anything in return is admitted he made a mistake (which would be what he'd be admitting by them giving Lynn the extension).

Bradley may go, but there is a shortage of really quality DC's (and the ones that are a fairly entrenched, older, and just going around collecting former DC's to bring in as position coaches to diversify their staffs) in this league right now and as a result a shortage of up-and-coming DC-in-waiting candidates.  Maybe you pry Chris Hewitt or Joe Cullen out of Baltimore, but I wouldn't count on it.  Maybe you manage to get Peter Guinta out of New Orleans.  Maybe.  I struggle to see who else is really out there that's an improvement.  The league has handicapped defenses in favor of ratings and higher-scores (thank the popularity of fantasy football for that).  Guys like Robert Saleh literally come out of nowhere and are about as easy to hit on as finding needles in haystacks.  The best indicator anyone might have had was that he was a defensive quality control under Pete Carroll during the Legion of Boom's hey-day, but even with his success in San Francisco, he's done so with a literal glut of defensive talent (when they were at their most dominant they had four Top 20 picks (3 of them Top 10 picks) on their defensive line.

I agree that Lynn won’t be fired in season and possibly not in the offseason.  I don’t think Gus has done a bad job, or maybe I’m just willing to give him a pass with all the injuries on that side of the ball.  Seems like every year his hands are tied.  Steichen on the other hand, not sure how he got the job in the first place (I know how, just not sure how they decided he was the best choice) and haven’t seen much of anything that’s impressed me so far.  
IMO Telesco can hit the door too.  Lynn’s his hire and quite frankly his drafts haven’t been great either.  At minimum he’s made questionable picks in every draft, some hits (Hayward, Woodhead, Pouncey) and some misses (Benjamin) in free agency, and forget any creativity in acquiring more picks or trades. 

[Dr LBC]

16 hours ago, BoltsFan937 said:

I agree that Lynn won’t be fired in season and possibly not in the offseason.  I don’t think Gus has done a bad job, or maybe I’m just willing to give him a pass with all the injuries on that side of the ball.  Seems like every year his hands are tied.  Steichen on the other hand, not sure how he got the job in the first place (I know how, just not sure how they decided he was the best choice) and haven’t seen much of anything that’s impressed me so far.  
IMO Telesco can hit the door too.  Lynn’s his hire and quite frankly his drafts haven’t been great either.  At minimum he’s made questionable picks in every draft, some hits (Hayward, Woodhead, Pouncey) and some misses (Benjamin) in free agency, and forget any creativity in acquiring more picks or trades. 

I agree about Telesco, but again, I can't see him going anywhere - especially with as well out the gate as Herbert is doing.  He's going to, in my estimation, be given another HC hire minimum before he's on the hot seat.  His seat should already be burning with his repeated indifference to infusing the OL with quality young talent (save get extraordinarily lucky if/when one falls to him... and then proceeds to suffer the Chargers injury curse) and refusal to pull the trigger to make nominal moves up to secure falling value in drafts (i.e. his "we have a Top 5 and we'd be happy with any of them" philosophy, which is crap, you clearly have that top 5 prioritized and you're refusing to do a cost/benefit analysis on trading up to secure a higher priority because you're risk-averse).

I realize they're all the rage right now, but offensive scheme wise a Shanahan-esque (could argue Reid, but Shanahan version fits the talent better) West Coast offense fits Herbert and the skill position players tremendously.  Keenan's not a stellar YAC guy, but his ability to separate can still keep him as a WR1 in terms of production.  Ekeler was made for stretch-zone run plays and the screen game.  And Herbert's floor, from what I can see at this point, is Jay Cutler - who I always felt got overly crapped on more than he deserved, but Herbert looks like he has a superior work ethic and attitude to Cutler, so there's plenty of reason to believe that he'd take to development more readily than Cutler did (and Cutler, under Shanahan and Kubiak was damn good).

[Dr LBC]

On 10/7/2020 at 9:40 AM, Leoric said:

Wade is looking for a job and we can get one great year out of him. Give him a single year contract to get that defense moving the needle again. Theres a lot of holes in the roster next year on a team, that wasn't good last year, isn't good this year and the future looks really bleak. With the potential departures of most of the CB's, Melvin Ingram, HH, Tevi, Feeney, Lamp, the lack of a bell cow running back, and Mike Williams. We aren't doing Herbert a whole ton of favors. I really don't even know how to start fixing this team. Lynn is great at taking ownership... something Norv and Milktoast were never going to do but he just doesn't get the results on the field. He isn't a great strategist. I have total faith in his ability to groom young men into being better individuals but don't feel he is the Football mind to get this team out of the dumps. Reminds me of a homeless mans Marty or Jeff Fisher.

As someone that just spent multiple seasons watching Wade with the Rams, Wade is cooked.  He doesn't make good in-game adjustments anymore, which was one of his calling cards and biggest selling points in the past.

[Leoric]

1 hour ago, The LBC said:

As someone that just spent multiple seasons watching Wade with the Rams, Wade is cooked.  He doesn't make good in-game adjustments anymore, which was one of his calling cards and biggest selling points in the past.

That’s the problem. Wade sucks in year two. It’s only year one I want him for. 

[Dr LBC]

On 10/8/2020 at 2:06 PM, Leoric said:

That’s the problem. Wade sucks in year two. It’s only year one I want him for. 

Yeah, but Wade's not signing a one-year contract.

Honestly, I feel like the best path forward from Lynn for the Chargers would be a proactive (and one that rectifies an error of the past): Get a new HC who is both a leader of men and more defensive-focused.  That's easier said that done, clearly, but I wouldn't necessarily shy away from retreads if they met certain criteria (i.e. had actual reached certain benchmarks like not only making the playoffs but winning playoff games as a HC, if not overachieving at their previous destination relative to what they inherited; also if their pedigree was solid - folks should remember I'm a big pedigree guy as long as that pedigree isn't Belichick pedigree - or in other words, pedigrees where the heads of the tree actually mentored their subordinates).

The most obvious candidate, if he meets that leader-of-men parameter, would seem to be Robert Saleh.  But I also wouldn't rule out Mike Zimmer if he gets canned because the Vikings aren't able to recover from their current downturn.  Cousins comes off the books after this season, I believe, so they could opt to make a fresh(ish) start rather than trust in grizzled vets Kubiak and Zimmer to bring along a young QB.

I'd need to explore this more, but when I say it's the proactive approach, I'm referring to the fact that winning the division runs through Mahomes and even if Herbert were to boat race him, Herbert's ivory ceiling is likely lower-class-man's Mahomes - and the likelihood he reaches that isn't great.  There are arguably more building blocks to sell a defensive-minded HC on the team than on the offensive side, you just want the guy to have the Rolodex containing contacts for guys whose (prospective) schemes play to Herbert's strengths.  Unless there's a current or former Reid assistant I'm missing (because I'm feeling like Bienemy may be fool's gold), the only offensive-minded HC candidates I've be interested in to fit with Herbert would be John Embree out of San Francisco  and possibly one or two from the college level who are almost entirely unlikely because, let's face it, Spanos isn't going that way and even if he did, he's not footing the bill to buy anyone worthwhile out of their contract to free them up.

[BoltsFan937]

Another blown 17 point lead.  The players keep saying “we need to learn how to close out games” and I feel like the coaches need to learn how to finish games.  
Anyway, back to the possible replacements.  I could see us promoting Pep Hamilton.  By all accounts, he’s done an excellent job thus far with Herbert and Herbert seems to like Pep.  That can’t be understated, the value of the QB/head coach relationship.  Also, promoting Pep would allow him to keep some current assistant staff rather than canning everyone which an outside coach would surely do. Not that he should keep current staff but it’s the sort of move Spanos would go for (less contracts to buy out).  I don’t know, just a thought that makes some sense to me

[y*so*blu]

On 10/13/2020 at 5:40 AM, BoltsFan937 said:

Another blown 17 point lead.  The players keep saying “we need to learn how to close out games” and I feel like the coaches need to learn how to finish games.  
Anyway, back to the possible replacements.  I could see us promoting Pep Hamilton.  By all accounts, he’s done an excellent job thus far with Herbert and Herbert seems to like Pep.  That can’t be understated, the value of the QB/head coach relationship.  Also, promoting Pep would allow him to keep some current assistant staff rather than canning everyone which an outside coach would surely do. Not that he should keep current staff but it’s the sort of move Spanos would go for (less contracts to buy out).  I don’t know, just a thought that makes some sense to me

I got to see some of Pep when he coached in the XFL. By all accounts, he was well-liked and trusted by his players.