Chargers leaning towards offensive-minded head coach

As of the moment I am typing this up, the Chargers have reportedly requested to interview six coaches out of the reported “10-12” that Jim Trotter said the franchise plans on vetting before hiring their next head coach. Of those six coaches, only two of them are a defensive coordinator. So while it’s still early in the process, it’s safe to assume the Chargers want that next superstar playcaller who can take Justin Herbert’s extremely promising future and turn it into wins, playoff appearances, and maybe — just maybe — a Super Bowl victory.

So far, the six coaches requested to be interviewed by the team have been Titans OC Arthur Smith, Colts DC Matt Eberflus, Rams DC Brandon Staley, Giants OC Jason Garrett, Bills OC Brian Daboll, Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy. The biggest names in there are obviously Bieniemy, Daboll and Smith.

Bieniemy helped the Chiefs lead the NFL with 415.6 yards of offense per game while both the Titans and Bills offenses finished second at 396.4. The Chiefs and Bills were the two most-prolific passing offenses while Smith and the Titans were the inverse of the two. Tennessee finished second in the NFL with 168.1 rushing yards per game while they only averaged 228.3 through the air.

As far as which of the teams were the best at finishing drives and getting into the end zone, the Bills were the best of the three, averaging 31.3 points per game. The Titans were fourth with 30.7 and the Chiefs finished sixth at 29.6.

This is a big reason why Daboll might be the most enticing for the Bolts. Despite finishing with a top-10 offense (9th) in 2020, the Chargers were only 19th in points per game (24.0). Many of the team’s close losses this season could have been avoided should the team had cashed in on just one more drive in the second half. That, and the all-too-often misses by Michael Badgley, really held the team back from getting close to their potential.

At the end of the day, any of those three candidates would be a welcomed improvement. But for now, we’re all stuck playing the waiting game like everyone else.