Why the Chargers should hire Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly
By Steven Haglund
The LA Chargers should take a look at Brian Kelly in their pursuit of their next head coach.
With the buzz surrounding the potential firing of Anthony Lynn gaining, I thought it would be fun to discuss one potential candidate that hasn’t been mentioned all that often.
The national media has been talking about who the Chargers should hire next as the team looks to open its title-contending window. There’s been some mention of Bill Belichick, or his disciple Josh McDaniels, Tennessee’s Arthur Smith, Buffalo’s Brian Daboll, or San Francisco’s Robert Saleh.
But one name that Colin Cowherd mentioned on his show on Friday morning really piqued my interest, and that’s Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly. (Full clip below)
"You cannot be an underdog at home to the Patriots with Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa & Justin Herbert."@ColinCowherd explains the importance for the Chargers to get their next head coach right: pic.twitter.com/CbKYRzCgrG
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 4, 2020
First, let’s talk about this notion that the Chargers are cheap and won’t pay up for their next head coach. Not saying that Cowherd is implying that in the clip, but others in the media certainly have. They’ve made it very clear recently that they are not afraid to open up their checkbooks.
Joey Bosa is the league’s highest-paid defensive player. Keenan Allen just got one of the top contracts for any wide receiver. A brand new practice facility is in the works. If they feel like the best coach for the job requires a hefty salary, they will give it to him.
This next coaching hire isn’t about throwing a lot of money at someone. It’s about finding the right FIT. The Chargers have a roster that is good enough to be a contending level team in this league. For all his faults, Anthony Lynn was not hired to coach a young team.
He was hired to lead a team that had a lot of veteran players and provide stability at the coaching position. And he mostly did that in his first two seasons. The Chargers are just in a different stage than what he signed on for, and they need to look for someone else that can take a young team and elevate it.
That’s why the intrigue of bringing someone over from the college football world, like Kelly, is so intriguing. And as we know, there are several of his former players already playing for the Chargers. Here are three reasons why I think he would be a good fit.