Frank Reich is the no-brainer choice for Chargers offensive coordinator

The Learning Curve

Something that both fans and analysts have pointed out with a new coordinator hire, in general, is the potential learning curve for both Herbert and the offense. Whoever gets the job Chargers' 3rd offensive coordinator in the last four years when they kick off the 2023 season.

Herbert himself has had a lot of turnover at Oregon and the Chargers, going through offensive coordinators every year like he was trying on Polos at Macy's. The Chargers want to get better offensive production and open up their offense, but it's also fair to say they probably don't want to rework everything Herbert and company have been doing over the last three years.

Reich is the perfect hire for me in that sense. You're getting a west coast offense that can use a lot of tight formations to create separation and mismatches through the middle of the field. The terminology is not wholly different from what Lombardi wanted to do on offense.

What makes Reich different from Lombardi is using RPOs, rolling his quarterback out, and a higher emphasis on triangle reads. Being able to keep some of the same terminologies while also taking the players in the offense to new heights via execution and schematics is a valuable asset than blowing up the system entirely.

Reich doesn't necessarily run a Shanahan system per se, but he runs west coast offense in a way that's currently familiar to the Chargers while also being much more multidimensional than they were with Lombardi. That's a scheme that should prove some value during this search for an offensive coordinator.