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On Tuesday morning, the Chargers officially announced the hiring of former XFL head coach and NFL offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton as the team’s quarterbacks coach. The news was first broken by The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.
We've named Pep Hamilton our quarterbacks coach.
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) May 5, 2020
→ https://t.co/Xu4QezHWEc pic.twitter.com/LZElteoD3d
Hamilton was most recently the head coach for the XFL’s D.C. Defenders before the league had to shut down due to the current health crisis. Prior to the XFL, he had stints with the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears.
From 2017-2018, Hamilton was the passing game coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh. Most notably, Hamilton was the offensive coordinator for the Colts from 2013-2015. He followed quarterback Andrew Luck to Indy just a couple years after Hamilton coached the former first-overall pick at Stanford during his senior season back in 2011.
While he held the reins to the Colts’ offense, the team won three playoff games and captured two division crowns. In 2014, the Colts had the number one passing offense (305.9 yards per game) and were third in total offense (406.6). Luck earned pro bowl nods each of Hamilton first two seasons with the club on top of setting career-highs in passing yards (4,761) and touchdowns (40) during the 2014 season.
As a player, Hamilton played quarterback back for Howard University from 1993-96.
The Chargers are hoping Hamilton can work double-duty in 2020 by helping Tyrod Taylor take his game to another level while also mentoring the team’s sixth-overall pick in Justin Herbert during his rookie season.