A surprising move for the LA Chargers was reported on Friday as NFL Network's Tom Pelissero broke the news that the Bolts would be firing special teams coordinator Derius Swinton. While the news just broke, there is already a great potential candidate that the Chargers should be considering.
This move was shocking as the Chargers' special teams did get better in 2021 and most fans were expecting a different coordinator to get fired, if any. The coordinator sitting on the hottest seat is defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill, who didn't do much if anything to make the Chargers a good defensive team in 2021.
This is complicated, though, as head coach Brandon Staley does operate as the defensive play-caller for the Bolts. The defensive woes can be pinned on him just as much as Hill. However, the perfect potential replacement exists in Vic Fangio, which seemingly makes it much more likely that the Chargers would fire Hill.
In theory, the Chargers could fire Hill to bring in Fangio to help Staley on the defensive side of the ball. Fangio is the coach who first gave Staley an NFL job and the two share similar defensive philosophies. This would be a good way for a young head coach to lean on the veteran experience of Fangio without changing the defensive identity.
While it makes sense, the LA Chargers ultimately will not fire Renaldo Hill for Vic Fangio.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this happen as much as the next fan. Fangio may not have been a great head coach but man is he a great defensive coordinator and reuniting with Staley in LA would be great for the Chargers. There is nothing wrong with having multiple great defensive minds in one building.
There are two main reasons why this probably won't happen, though, and they are related. First is the fact that Staley does not seem intent on giving up play-calling duties on the defensive side of the ball. In a press conference on Thursday, Staley commented that he was happy with how much he was able to be involved in all three phases of the game and that being the defensive play-caller did not take away from those duties.
This is his defense after all. While Staley obviously has a lot of admiration for his mentor in Fangio, it does not seem likely that he would be willing to give up some of the defensive responsibilities in just his second year as a head coach.
And that leads us into the second reason. While it didn't work out in Denver, Fangio is still a very respected defensive mind and is going to have defensive coordinator jobs lined up. While he has a connection to Staley, Fangio has leverage and he is likely going to prefer going somewhere where he can mold the defense and take full control.
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There is no real reason to fire Hill and bring in another coordinator if the defense is just going to continue operating in the way that it is operating. If someone like Fangio is okay with taking a bit of a lesser role then absolutely it makes sense. However, it just is not practical.