What I Would Do as General Manager of the Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are struggling to win football games right now. Although it looks bleak, there is still a bright future for this organization if some key decisions are made quickly. If I were hired as the general manager right now, my first move would be to fire Head Coach (HC) Anthony Lynn and promote Offensive Coordinator (OC) Shane Steichen to interim HC. Even though I would not care about fan reception of my decisions, this would be an extremely popular move given the animosity between Lynn and the fanbase. His poor clock management skills and the terrible losses this season have been inexcusable given the talent currently on the roster. Following Lynn out of the door would be Defensive Coordinator (DC) Gus Bradley.
My short list to replace Lynn would consist of two main candidates: 49ers DC Robert Saleh and Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy. Saleh would be an excellent candidate due to his defensive playcalling abilities, as well as his enthusiastic nature which seems to be a problem under Lynn. Saleh would leave me a simpler job filling the DC role, which I would likely allow Saleh to choose. Bieniemy, a former Charger, would not only be a solid hire because of his part on a Super Bowl winning staff and time spent around offensive genius Andy Reid, but also because the hire would weaken a division rival. However, Bieniemy’s hire would leave me a tough job filling the DC role, where I would have to look at former Bengals HC Marvin Lewis, who is currently employed by Arizona State, and 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. Lewis has a reputation as an elite defensive playcaller, but has been out of the professional game for a couple of years now. Kocurek works under Saleh and coached one of the best defensive lines in football last year. In either case, current OC Shane Steichen would be kept around due to his success in coaching rising superstar Justin Herbert. While the points per game his offense has produced has been perfectly average, at 16th place this year, this could be attributed to Lynn’s insistence on running the ball or Herbert not having enough time to learn the full offense. I believe that stripping Herbert of Steichen would be a mistake and could lead to developmental problems similar to what Marcus Mariota faced in Tennessee.
After sorting out my coaching staff, my next move would be to hit the free agency market with around $30 million in cap space. I’d look to offload free agents such as Mike Pouncey and Jahleel Addae, who are over 30 years old and not getting much game time. I would look to keep linebacker Melvin Ingram and hopefully get a softened deal given his lack of production this season. The rest of our free agents would be solid resignings given that they do not ask for ridiculous amounts. In terms of outside free agent signings, offensive guard Joe Thuney would be an excellent signing if I could get him for less than $15 million a year for 1-2 years. Corey Davis would also be an outstanding signing at wide receiver with a lot of upside if I could sign him for anywhere between $6-10 million a year for 2-3 years.
In the draft, my number one priority would most certainly be offensive tackle Penei Sewell of Oregon. He has played with Herbert and is tall, athletic, and strong. He is the best offensive tackle prospect in the last decade in my opinion. Luckily, I do not think it would take too much to trade up to the number two spot to get him, ahead of the Bengals who will also be looking to grab him. Given that the Jaguars, who will likely have the second overall pick, will need a quarterback, and that nobody else besides the Jets in the top 10 will, they could safely trade down to the four or five overall pick and still draft Justin Fields there. Therefore, I would offer a 2021 first, a 2021 third, a 2021 sixth, and a 2022 third for the Jaguars 2021 first. If this fails, I would be willing to exchange a third for a second. This would allow me to draft Sewell and still have some picks left to fill roster spots later on the draft.
To recap, my moves as the Los Angeles Chargers general manager would include firing HC Anthony Lynn, hiring one of two highly qualified candidates to fill the role, making limited moves in free agency to fill some weaknesses, and doing everything I could to draft Penei Sewell. While I hope current general manager Tom Telesco uses my exact blueprint, the main priority is getting rid of Anthony Lynn as soon as possible.