LA Chargers could hire one of these two head coaches on the hot seat if fired
By Jason Reed
2. Mike Zimmer
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that the Minnesota Vikings, along with the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears, are preparing for a head coach search at the end of the 2021 season. Matt Nagy definitely does not make sense for the LA Chargers to bring on in any capacity but the Bolts could find value in bringing in Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer was hired by the Vikings because of his defensive mind and his defense has not looked great in recent years. However, the talent on the defensive side of the football really has not been there over the last two seasons as he certainly has not had the star power that the Chargers have outside of Eric Hendricks.
When the Vikings haD comparable talent to what the Chargers have the defensive side of the football really thrived. In 2019 they won 10 games behind a defense that allowed the fifth-fewest points per game. The year prior they allowed the ninth-fewest points per game and the year before that they ranked first in points allowed per game.
These last two seasons are really the first time that a Zimmer-led defense has struggled. Before becoming the head coach of the Vikings he was the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, who were consistently one of the best defensive teams in the league in the early 2010s.
Zimmer does not have the connection to Brandon Staley that Fangio has but Staley was extremely complimentary of Zimmer earlier this season. Prior to the matchup against the Vikings, Staley called Zimmer "one of the top third-down architects in the history of the game". If there is anyone to turn the Chargers' defense around on third down, it might just be Zimmer.
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Zimmer does have a small connection to the Chargers coaching staff as well. His son, Adam Zimmer, was an assistant linebackers coach for the New Orleans Saints while Joe Lombardi was an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach.