San Diego Chargers hire Mike Nolan as LB coach

The San Diego Chargers filled a hole in their coaching staff today by hiring Mike Nolan as the linebackers coach.

The San Diego Chargers have brought in a new linebackers coach to fill the spot that Joe Barry had departed. Barry signed on with the Washington Redskins to become their defensive coordinator and the Chargers have filled the hole by signing former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

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Nolan has spent a number of years as a defensive coordinator in the league and should bring plenty of coaching experience onto the coaching staff. He has also spend time as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

This reminds me of the time when the Chargers hired lomg-time defensive coordinator Ron Rivera to be the linebackers coach. Ted Cottrell was the defensive coordinator at the time and Rivera was brought on to become the linebackers coach for the team. Rivera was added to a coaching staff to help the team turn the corner defensively.

After Cottrell continued to struggle with his defense, he was fired in the middle of the season and Rivera was given the opportunity to run the show.

Could the Chargers be setting something like that up again?

Is John Pagano on the hot seat? If you talk to a number of Chargers fans, they would think that he should be.

The Chargers have a number of young linebackers that need to step up their games this season and Mike Nolan will be given the task to get them to play to their potential.

Melvin Ingram is a first round draft pick that has 6 sacks in 3 seasons of football. The production is not there, but everyone sees the potential. Jerry Attaochu will be entering his second season and he has the potential to be a good pass rusher as well. He has a lot of speed coming off of the edge. This team finished with the 4th least sacks last season.

Manti Te’o showed promise in the middle of the defense. He just needs to keep his feet healthy and keep working. He should be a solid player. Donald Butler was a disappointment after signing his new contract. Nolan will need to get him back on track.

Mike Nolan’s job will be to get some production out of the linebackers in San Diego this season. This will likely be a temporary destination since he has so much experience coaching as a defensive coordinator. He will get another job as a defensive coordinator at some time. Will it be with the Chargers though?

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