In some ways, the Los Angeles Chargers are in an unenviable position. They have some holes on their roster, particularly on defense, they may be about to lose a very good dual-threat running back in Austin Ekeler, they’re in salary cap hell and they have an owner who is regarded as cheap.
On the other hand, they have several things going for them as they look for their next head coach.
Yahoo Sports recently ranked the seven teams that currently have head coaching openings from least to most attractive based on input from six “highly positioned league sources.” Los Angeles came in at No. 2, and one source, an NFL head coach, had some pretty complimentary things to say about how attractive its situation is.
“If you’re fortunate enough to have the Charger situation where you have a top-10 quarterback, top 5, whatever he is, then certainly that is [helpful] because that’s the one piece you need and that it’s hard to either draft or get,” one of the polled coaches said. “That’s either 1 or 1a. And then if you already have that thing in place, then you don’t have cap space.
“You could say whatever you want about the Spanoses. Who really knows what they pay for, what they don’t pay for. Are they cheap? They have a quarterback. They’re building a brand new training facility. The cap is a little bit messed up, but you’ve got stability there. I’d run there.”
NFL News & Rumors: Los Angeles Chargers Updates
That top-10 or top-five quarterback is Justin Herbert, who at age 25 may still be a couple of years away from truly entering his prime. At 6-foot-6 and 236 pounds, he is one of the game’s most physically gifted signal-callers, and his throwing arm could double as a military-grade rocket launcher.
In Keenan Allen, L.A. has a Pro Bowl wide receiver who had 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns in just 13 games this season. While he will be 32 years of age next season, he should still have enough left in the tank for at least one or two more excellent campaigns.
In addition, Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, when healthy, are two very productive pass rushers.
The Chargers will also have the No. 5 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. While they have had some draft blunders over the years (wide receiver Quentin Johnston last year stands out, as they passed up on Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison), they have the opportunity to add a very big piece with that pick.
They have reportedly already interviewed Jim Harbaugh, former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and David Shaw, who spent over a decade coaching at Stanford University, for their head coaching vacancy.
