So with the site of playoffs gone is it fair to put the blame on Turner? Not all of it. General Manager AJ Smith is definitely to blame along with Owner/President Dean Spanos. Spanos was the one who believed in these gentlemen and while its evident that Spanos wants to win his decisions show different. Now it’s inevitable fans will get their wish. Norv should be on his way out. AJ says he can deliver Gruden, but is that AJ just pulling his buns away from the fire? If not I put together my top 10 list of who could fit in San Diego.

10- Rod Marinelli, Defensive Coordinator of the Chicago Bears- We can’t blame the Lousy Lions all on Marinelli. It was a mess there and look at what he is doing for Chicago! Marinelli deserves another chance. The only worry I do have, he was the coach of the Lousy Lions!

9- Chip Kelly, Head Coach of Oregon Ducks- One reason only I don’t believe in Chip Kelly. His method of football befuddles me and have a hard time believing it will be effective in the NFL. Think about it like this, 200 pound linebackers 125 pound running backs. The whole idea is speed kills everywhere. No. I don’t think it will even come close to working in the NFL. Kelly knows how to win and do it consistently, so i’ll give him the nod over Norv.

8- Perry Fewell, Defensive Coordinator for the New York Giants- Fewell is doing a great job for the Giants. I don’t like the fact that he has been considered for a lot of jobs and never called for an interview. The truth is though he won a bowl based around his defense. That speaks enough for me.

7- Bruce Arians, Interim Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts- What Arians has been accomplishing with a mostly very young Colts team and torn apart at the seams franchise, is truly remarkable. To think that the Colts are in the playoff conversation is amazing!

6- Bill Cowher, Analyst for CBS- The Chin falls this low?!? YES! I love the guy. Cowher was awesome for the Steelers! A great motivator and a true motivational tool. The Chin has also made numerous Steelers teams competitive. Why does he fall this low? He has been out of the game so LONG. It’s a completely different game right now and I am not POSITIVE that he can come back and be as effective as he once was. I have also read a lot of reports saying that he knew football, but not as much as a head coach should.

5-Ron Rivera, Coach of the Carolina Panthers- When Rivera was the defensive coordinator of the Chargers they ranked first in overall defense. With Carolina getting impatient and firing the GM it looks more than likely that he will be out of a job. He proved himself in Diego and can bring success back. Ron has a presence of equal proportion and brings a certain intensity to the game of football. Cam Newton isn’t a typical quarterback and not what everyone saw last year. With that being said he didn’t get a fair shot at sitting at the head of the table.

4- Roy Horton, Defensive Coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals- Yes the Cardinals were bad this year, and yes they lost to the Jets, BUT that GREAT start out of the gate was due to the dominance of the defense. Horton is bound for a head coaching job some where so San Diego is a pretty good place to start. You can’t do any worse than the Chargers have already and when you have done most of your coaching with/learning from Dick LeBeau that makes me believe the you are AT LEAST a great defensive mind and can get it done.

3- Mike Holmgren, CHILLING- Nothing to do no where to go. Holmgren has already expressed that he was thinking about getting back in the game. His attitude is a little more relaxed than the others, but still has a good football presence and look at what he was able to do with Farve. Rivers and Favre are the same type of nitty gritty gun slingers who are tough and competitors. He had a little hiccup in Cleveland which makes me wonder if his style of football will still fly in the NFL, but no one can deny that the Browns have talent in the arm pit of the US.

2- Brian Billick, Analyst for FOX- Billick is a Super Bowel winning coach with tons of experience. While Billick is an offensive minded guy he coached one of the greatest defenses in the history of football. While he has great presence on the side line he also has a notch with Tight Ends. What has made San Diego so different and unique was its Tight Ends. With Green coming up through the ranks this would definitely be a bonus too. It won’t be hard finding a defensive coordinator that will team up with Billick. Not many people can win a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer as the quarterback.

1- John Gruden, ESPN Analyst- While I don’t think that this is possible, it could be the best fit and a chance for San Diego to win as soon as next year. The one they call, “Chucky,” is a warm weather guy, someone who enjoys having a set quarterback with lots of talent, and for him to come back it would take a team with a talent pool such as San Diego’s. The problem with Gruden is that no one has been able to pry him from the nice warm booth. The Chargers would benefit from Gruden because of his no nonsense and go for the jugular brand of coaching. He could definitely be the guy to bring San Diego to a Super Bowl.

So instead of writing everything all over again, it has been reported that “sources,” say that Dean Spanos will fire Norv Turner and AJ Smith at the end of the year. Top 5 GM’s coming SOON!

Bolt Pride!

-Joey Nicks

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Rumors are flying that Jon Gruden will be looking to get back into coaching next season. Sources around him have shared that he is looking into diffrerent assistant coaches around the league and seeing what their potential availability will be after the season. Former Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and Chargers special teams coach Rich Bisaccia are a couple of coaches that he could be looking to recruit for his next destination.

Gruden is looking to join a team that has some talent on the roster and has good ownership. The San Diego Chargers job could be available at the end of the season if Norv Turner is unable to lead the team through a post season run. Fans want that big name with a proven track record to come in here and turn things around. Some fans will take almost anyone that is not Norv.

Other potential openings that could be a nice fit for Gruden are with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

Word Jon Gruden exploring return to coaching makes it slightly more official. He was close last year. Has postured for jobs, incl Chargers.

— UTKevinAcee (@UTKevinAcee) November 8, 2012

Coach Jeff Fisher

The Tennessee Titans and Head Coach Jeff Fisher “parted ways” yesterday.

During any football season, one of the teams that I did not like seeing on the schedule is the Titans, because I know that the game would be a grind and that our team would be hurting after the game. The Titans were known as a dirty team, but it was Jeff Fisher football. A Tough, play to the whistle, grimey brand of football.

The San Diego Chargers and the Titans have had some epic battles while Fisher was the coach and there were many times when are star players were not walking off the field on their own two feet.
(more…)