The San Diego Chargers Offensive Coordinator Search

Dec 30, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) gestures during the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

With the San Diego Chargers bringing in Mike McCoy to run the show, it is time to figure out who will run the offense. McCoy already has said that he will hire an offensive coordinator that will call the plays.

Here are a list of a few possibilities that I could come up:

Cam CameronFormer Offensive Coordinator, Baltimore RavensFired from the Baltimore Ravens in the middle of the season. He still might have some people that believe in him in San Diego. He runs that Norv Turner type offense and knows Philip Rivers well. Hopefully we pass on this idea.

Ken WhisenhuntFormer Head Coach, Arizona CardinalsHe might be too butt hurt about getting passed over for the head coaching job to take the offensive coordinator position with the team. He helped bring Kurt Warner back to life in Arizona and he also won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their offensive coordinator.

Hue JacksonSecondary Coach, Cincinnati BengalsJackson made Jason Campbell look like a decent quarterback and made the Raiders offense potent. THE RAIDERS OFFENSE! They finished 6th in the NFL in scoring under his watch as the offensive coordinator.

Pete CarmichaelOffensive coordinator, New Orleans SaintsCarmichael’s contract with the Saints has expired and it doesn’t look like they will be renewing it. He has been the offensive coordinator for New Orleans since 2009 and has finished number 1 overall in 4 of the last 6 seasons. He was a wide receivers/quality control coach for the Chargers under Marty Scottenheimer and Cam Cameron. If anyone can make Robert Meachem useful, it would be Carmichael.

Mike MularkeyFormer Head coach, Jacksonville JaguarsRecently released by the Jaguars when they hired their new head coach, but Mularkey has been successful as an offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons. In Pittsburgh, he had a reputation for running a lot of trick plays with Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El. He also was known for running a very physical offense that beat down their opponents. In his first season as the Falcon offensive coordinator, his offense ran for 152+ yards per game, second most in the league. Maybe Ryan Mathews could flourish in his system OR get injured faster.

Geep ChrystQuarterbacks Coach, San Francisco 49ersDidn’t we give this a try with Chryst before? Chryst was the offensive coordinator under Mike Riley in that messy part of San Diego Chargers history.  Chryst has worked with Mike McCoy in the past in Carolina. McCoy was the quarterbacks coach in Carolina and Chryst was brought in as the tight ends/quality control coach.

Summary:

Who knows which direction McCoy wants to roll with for his selection as offensive coordinator. I can see him leaning on a familiar face with Chryst, but we already saw Telesco pass on someone he was familiar with. The only name I really hate on this list is Cam Cameron. I don’t love Chryst either, but could live with him. If we bring in any of the other guys on the list and I would be stoked. Any other possibilities out there?