Almost at the end of a long, injury riddled season for the San Diego Chargers, the team is looking to make several personnel changes. One of which involves their current head coach, Mike McCoy. In nearly four seasons with the team, McCoy has led the Chargers to a 27-36 record, making the playoffs in his first season. After consecutive 9-7 seasons to start his tenure, things were looking fairly bright for him and the Chargers. However, injuries riddled the franchise over the past two years, leading to a combined 9-22 record in the past two seasons. Injuries can not be controlled, and McCoy has done all he can to keep the Chargers in contention. All told, there is no reason for the Chargers to fire Mike McCoy.
San Diego Chargers Shouldn’t Fire Mike McCoy
The Injury Bug
Unfortunately for the Chargers, they have been plagued by injuries over the past few seasons. Each season, it has been different, but still vital, positions that have seen the most injuries come their way. In 2014, key players like Danny Woodhead and Sean Lissemore had their seasons cut short by injury. Last season, the offensive line was dismantled by injuries to players like King Dunlap and Orlando Franklin. This year, franchise cornerstones Keenan Allen and Jason Verrett had their seasons end early due to ACL injuries.
Now, injuries are certainly no excuse for a team doing as poorly as the Chargers, but they must be considered when viewing McCoy as a coach. He has done all he can to manage a team to at least be competitive in games. After all, the Chargers did beat the current second seeded Atlanta Falcons this season, and have been competitive in games with playoff teams like the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, just to name a few. While health is never a given in the NFL, the toll these injuries have taken on the Chargers is just insurmountable. Given the injuries the Chargers have dealt with, it is unlikely any coach would be able to take this team to a winning season, let alone the playoffs.
Potential Rebranding
With rumors surrounding the Chargers potentially moving to Los Angeles, the Chargers may be looking to completely rebrand themselves. The Chargers have considered a total rebrand, and doing so could lead them to fire McCoy. While that would be fitting for trying to have a fresh start in Los Angeles, it may not be the smartest move for the Chargers front office to make. After all, continuity is one of the keys to success in the NFL.
The New England Patriots are a perfect example of this: they have had the same head coach (Bill Belichick) for now 16 seasons, and they have maintained consistent success under him. While some of that success is due to superstar quarterback Tom Brady, coaching plays a big role in success. The Chargers have a star quarterback in Philip Rivers, and they should consider giving McCoy a little bit more time to lead the Chargers to success.
Overall, McCoy deserves at least one more season as head coach of the Chargers. If the Chargers struggle next season as well, then it will be time to fire McCoy. But for now, McCoy has proven to be capable of leading the Chargers to the playoffs, and should at least get one more chance at leading San Diego back to the postseason next year.
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