Yesterday, the Los Angeles Chargers confirmed that both their offensive and defensive coordinators, Ken Whisenhunt and Gus Bradley, would return for the 2018 season. It’s yet unknown how long the deal is for Whisenhunt, whereas Bradley signed a three-year contract.
Bradley joined the Chargers, with head coach Anthony Lynn, at the start of the 2017 season, after being fired from Jacksonville. He only signed a one-year deal on the west coast, presumably, to leave his options open after the year was up. Bradley’s coaching had a big affect on the Bolts as he bought over his ‘4-3 under’ style. This suited multiple players better than the ‘3-4 hybrid’ that the Chargers have used over a number of years. It proved a great success.
It has been widely reported, after the season was up, that Bradley was a man in demand. The Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers were all named as teams interested in taking him as a defensive coordinator. Both those defenses aren’t headed in the same direction as the Bolts.
On the other hand, Whisenhunt continues in his second spell with the Chargers. He was initially employed as the offensive coordinator under Mike McCoy. The partnership only lasted a year after seemingly giving Philip Rivers a new lease of life. That gave him a chance to be the head coach, again. However, Whisenhunt could only muster a 3-20 record with Tennessee and was fired. The Chargers came calling, once more. This will be his third year with the team, the second time around.
A Look Ahead
Continuity is good, especially as it will only be Lynn’s second year in charge. Unfortunately, it could cause some shuffling of the pack beneath the coordinators, specifically on the defensive side. Two coaches that would be looking to move up are defensive back coach, Ron Milus, and defensive line coach, Giff Smith. The pair have been impressive getting multiple players to show improvement in their time with the Chargers. In 2017, Milus was a finalist for the vacant coordinator job, that would be given to Bradley.