Following a big road win over the Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Chargers have decided it is time to make a change.
With that, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has been fired, thus ending his second tenure with the team in that role. He was able to turn the last stint into a head coaching position with the Tennessee Titans.
Whisenhunt was considered one of the league’s great offensive minds when he helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL. He then became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and took them to the Super Bowl.
But things have taken a drastic turn for the worst this season.
The Chargers were a big favorite in the AFC this year after the team went to the divisional round of the playoffs last season. But a rough stretch in October, that included the return of Melvin Gordon, left the team with a big hole to climb out of.
Whisenhunt’s playcalling, particularly his insistence to get Gordon involved when he was clearly ineffective, led to the frustration of fans and the team. Philip Rivers was shown arguing with the coaching staff early on in the game on Sunday.
It remains to be seen who will replace Whisenhunt, but it will be interesting to see who Lynn chooses. He held onto Whisenhunt when he was hired as coach to replace Mike McCoy.
In a statement released by the team on Monday evening, Lynn had this to say:
“This is not an easy decision and definitely not one that I take lightly. You win as a team, and you lose as a team. It’s never about just one person. At the end of the day, however, I simply felt a change was needed at this time. I want to thank Ken for his years of service to the Chargers organization and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
The Chargers will need to make a decision and start to gameplan quickly for their Week 9 battle with the Green Bay Packers, one of the best teams in the league this year.