Chargers look to revamp defense
The Los Angeles Chargers have to do something differently. After making the playoffs in 2013 with a 9-7 record, the Chargers have failed to reach the postseason in each of the following three seasons. This year, the team fired head coach Mike McCoy and moved on from defensive coordinator John Pagano, hiring Anthony Lynn and Gus Bradley to take over those respective positions.
It’s going to be a stark difference in philosophy on defense. Pagano ran a 3-4 defense that was typically very vanilla, always allowing teams to see what was coming before reacting. When you have elite talent, you can get away with that sort of thing. When you are the Chargers, a little disguise never hurt anybody.
Under Bradley, the former head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and overseer of the Legion of Boom in Seattle, there are going to be sweeping changes. Bradley runs a 4-3 look, something that should allow Joey Bosa to shine even more than he did as a rookie. Bosa is an elite talent coming off the edge and should only improve in this scheme, giving him the opportunity to get even wider on his rushes.
That said, there are real questions as to what the Chargers are going to do with Melvin Ingram. Ingram is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career, and could go to the highest bidder. Still, the Chargers might want to retain the outside linebacker, who thrived in a 3-4 scheme. Ingram could find himself in a similar role to the one Bruce Irvin played in Seattle, playing the part of an all-around talent instead of strictly hunting for quarterbacks.
If Bradley can finally get this unit to perform up to standard, perhaps Philip Rivers will have one more chance at a championship. Rivers is likely on his last contract and desperately needs a Super Bowl to put him into the Hall of Fame. Without one, he’s likely a very good quarterback lacking the one last line on his resume.
Los Angeles is starting over in so many ways. Bradley’s appointment is another signal that thing are going to change, hopefully this time for the better. If the Chargers are ever going to get things right, it must start with a coaching staff that understands how to put players in the best possible position to succeed.
Bradley failed miserably as a head coach in Jacksonville, but his qualifications for this post are well-documented, dating back to his exploits in the Emerald City. Is that success to be duplicated in Los Angeles? Time will tell.
