It's the offseason and, with most teams set with their coaching staffs, we've hit one of the lulls where news isn't breaking and probably won't be breaking for a few weeks. So, what is the NFL media to do? Break opinions!

While Vincent Jackson maintains he would like to stay in San Diego, and GM A.J. Smith is reportedly now "comfortable" exploring a long-term deal, NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora isn't betting on it.

"I don't see any way he's back there," La Canfora said Tuesday on "NFL Total Access."

"The Chargers won't franchise him, they've come out and said that."

Source

I suppose I should throw my opinion out there as well. I think whether or not the San Diego Chargers sign back Jackson rests on the outcome of the Marcus McNeill (and Kris Dielman) situation If one or both of those guys are gone, it frees up some money and just about forces them to use their first-round pick on an offensive lineman. If they're both back, there's no money and the team could try and replace Jackson with a WR in the first round.

Seeing as how McNeill leaving seems downright likely at this point, and the San Diego front office is desperate to be in the playoffs in 2012, I think Jackson returns and gets that long-term, big-money contract that he wants.

Considering the Chargers have said that they will not franchise Jackson, and he'll be the most heavily sought after WR on the market, there's little chance that they could get a discount on VJ. After waiting for so long, the Chargers might find themselves bowing out of an intense bidding war even if they do decide that they'd like to offer him a long-term deal. That's the bad news. The good news is that Jackson will have a contract with someone by time the NFL Draft rolls around, allowing San Diego to plan and draft accordingly.

However, the simple fact that the Chargers have said that they will not franchise Jackson is surprising. They certainly need him in the offense (Vincent Brown is the best WR-that-can-stay-healthy behind him). It leads me to believe that both sides are confident that a deal can be reached. Fingers crossed.

Earlier today, the San Diego Chargers fired not-very-well-liked Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky after one year on the job. Many joked that the Bolts had "fixed the problem" and would now be Super Bowl favorites. Then, as if the crowd of people that enjoy firings ten times more than they do actual victories weren't pumped up enough, Kevin Acee dropped this tweet.

This likely is not last axe to fall on coaching staff.

— S.D. U-T Chargers (@sdutChargers) January 5, 2012

Well, then. I guess everybody is at risk to lose their job then....right?

Early favorite (in the clubhouse) for new Chargers DC is LB coach John Pagano.

— S.D. U-T Chargers (@sdutChargers) January 5, 2012

Okay, so John Pagano (LB Coach) is safe. Steve Wilks (DB Coach) and Don Johnson (DL Coach) are essentially "free agents", and I think I mentioned here previously that it woudln't be all too surprising if they followed Ron Rivera to Carolina (after following him to San Diego from Chicago). Either way, you can't really be "fired" if you're not under contract (see: Crosby, Steve).

So, with more axes to fall, I started wondering: Which heads are on the chopping block?

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Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of Bill Cowher. I think he was a very good motivator and disciplinarian. I also think a great deal of his success was due to things out his control, like the drafting of players, a winning atmosphere and play-calling. This is not an anti-Bill Cowher post. This is an anti-San Diego media post.

The San Diego media is borderline retarded. They want Bill Cowher, the most successful unemployed Head Coach under the age of a thousand, to be the coach of the San Diego Chargers so badly that they will believe any crazy person on the street corner that starts yelling about him going to San Diego. This is exactly what has happened in the past few days, with "rumors" about Cowher wanting to come to San Diego popping up everywhere.

Here's where I stand on Cowher.

• Will he listen to an offer? If he's interested in returning to coaching, it behooves him to listen to all offers and pick the one he feels is best. Just like it makes sense for him to at least feign interest for any and all open positions to potentially start a bidding war for his services.
• Will he make the Chargers a Super Bowl contender? Not necessarily. Cowher made the Super Bowl twice in his 15 years in Pittsburgh (winning once), and his team has returned twice in the 5 years since he retired (winning once). That leads to me thinking that their success had more to do with the players and the system (most notable, Dick LeBeau's defense) than Bill Cowher.
• Who would he bring with him? This is the biggest question the Chargers have to ask Cowher if he's sitting in Dean Spanos' office asking for $7 million per year. He doesn't call offensive or defensive plays, so the success of those sides of the ball will have more to do with the coaches that want to work with Cowher than Bill himself.

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After getting through five full games without an injury, the San Diego Chargers offensive line ended up battered in bruised after losing the battle of the trenches with the New York Jets.

Marcus McNeill left the game with a neck injury, worrisome because of his history of neck problems in the past, but is back to practicing with the team and expected to play against the Chiefs. Much more worrisome is the story about Kris Dielman that's just coming out now. Take it away, Silver Fox...

Pro Bowl left guard Kris Dielman, who stayed in Sunday's road game against the New York Jets with a concussion and suffered a Gran Mal seizure as the team flight descended into San Diego, will miss at least the Chargers' next two games.

Dielman, who wouldn't confirm that anything happened on the flight, said the decision not to play Monday night in Kansas City and Nov. 6 against Green Bay was based on how he's felt in the days after being visibly staggered in the fourth quarter Sunday.

"I just banged my head a little bit," said Dielman. "Now I gotta deal with it."

Sources, however, said the incident on the team plane was "violent" and "scary." An ambulance met the plane on the tarmac and transported Dielman to the hospital, where he stayed overnight.

So, on top of the injuries on the defense that were mentioned earlier, the Chargers now have an injured LT (still playing), an injured LG (out at least two weeks) and an injured C/G backup (Scott Mruczkowski apparently injured his neck at some point). If it weren't for McNeill (somewhat suspiciously) making such a quick recovery, the depth on this line would be terrifying heading into Kansas City.

The other day, Forbes Magazine came out with it's annual Top 5 Most Miserable Sports Cities article that is pretty much an excuse to rile some people up or place pity on those who are asking for it. Here's how they pick which cities make the cut:

We scored each city on the number of times one of its teams has lost in the postseason, adjusting the misery points to give the most weight to losing in the final round (World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Final, Stanley Cup Final) and doling out progressively fewer points for losing earlier playoff rounds. We also factored in the number of years since each city’s last title (31 for Seattle), and the ratio of each city’s cumulative seasons to championships won (Atlanta, for instance, has compiled 153 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL seasons while winning one championship, the 1995 Braves). And to keep the playing field even, we limited the contenders to cities with at least 75 cumulative seasons in the four major sports leagues.

You're wondering how this ties into San Diego, right? Well, the city is credited with having four professional sports franchises over the last 75 seasons (Clippers and Rockets included) and have compiled just 1 championship (1963 AFL Title) in the last 93 professional seasons. Ouch. Depending on your viewpoint, that could either be better (a better ratio) than Atlanta or worse (2 less professional teams currently means long winters).

Forbes' system ranks San Diego sports fans as the 5th most miserable, coming in behind Seattle, Atlanta, Phoenix and Buffalo. There is no doubting that San Diego is viewed as a "little brother" town that can not compete and can not bring in championships, even when the Chargers and Padres are winning division titles. This reputation, and our ranking on this annual Forbes list, will surely follow the city forever until at least one of those teams gives us a reason to have a parade down 5th Ave.

It's not often that I find myself disagreeing with a Kevin Acee article, but this morning I was shaking my head while reading Acee's report on the Chargers interest (or lack there of) in Free Agent Safeties Bob Sanders and O.J. Atogwe. Here's why:

The fact that the Chargers have not made contact with the representatives for free agent safeties Bob Sanders or O.J. Atogwe makes the team’s interest level pretty clear, if you pay attention to how Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith works. If he wants someone, he acts fast. An offer would already have been made if Smith was hot for Sanders or Atogwe.

To this, my original thought response was "Wait....is he serious?" Who is signing Free Agents these days, a week or less away from the NFL Lockout? The answer to that is very close to "nobody". Here's the entire list of players that have been signed by teams other than their own so far this offseason: Erik Coleman (Lions) and Rashad Jeanty (Eagles).

If A.J. Smith (and Dean Spanos) have made anything abundantly clear, it's that they do not like negotiating a contract without knowing the environment they'll be in under the new CBA. I assumed this was the reason guys like Mike Tolbert were still Free Agents and not inked to long-term deals with the Chargers.

Also, do not forget about Weddle. What kind of message would it send him if the Chargers were out there offering a contract to Atogwe before re-signing Weddle (or their other impending Free Agents)? If I were him in that situation, I'd be a little annoyed that the team was pointing their attention at adding a new Safety and not appreciating the one they already have.

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While I've been a little too busy with my real job to write any BFTB posts so far today, I did have a few minutes during lunch at home to flip on NFL Network and enjoy some exciting NFL Scouting Combine action.

However, there was zero action. None. There were three people, the only one I knew was Jamie Dukes, sitting at a desk high above an empty field in Indianapolis (which I found out is "The Circle City"). They were talking in generalities like "If I were the Panthers, I'd trade down. They don't have any second round picks." Enthralling stuff.

So, for my benefit and yours (and blatantly stolen from Pride of Detroit), the entire NFL Scouting Combine schedule is after the jump.....with the only parts worth watching on TV highlighted.

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After a night out on the town with his agent, Legedu Naanee was arrested in Indianapolis for being rude to police officers who were trying to get him out of a crime scene that he had walked into. Shenanigans ensued, and Legs wound up pepper-spray and cuffed (I really thought he had a shot to out-fight the cops for a moment there).

We've known all this for a few days. We've also known that Naanee is a free agent, and probably an unrestricted one, that the Chargers might've been considering letting go anyways. To say "this seals it" might be taking it too far, as Legedu has a great track record (and really, did nothing wrong besides being a little too drunk at the wrong time and place) and the Chargers have invested a lot of time, money and effort into turning him into a WR that can probably start in the NFL.

One thing is for sure, "L.A." is looking like he's still feeling that pepper-spray when his mugshot was taken.