https://theathletic.com/4098375/2023/01/17/chargers-joe-lombardi-offensive-coordinator-candidates/

By Daniel Popper
Jan 17, 2023

The Chargers fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and passing game
coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shane Day on Tuesday after two seasons.

Head coach Brandon Staley, who is returning for 2023, will now be
searching for a new coaching nucleus around 24-year-old quarterback
Justin Herbert.

Herbert made his first playoff appearance this season, but amid a slew
of injuries, the offense as a whole regressed. The Chargers finished
fourth in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA in 2021. They ranked 19th
this year. Injuries were a factor. So was a lack of speed and depth at
receiver. But Lombardi’s scheme and play calling just felt stagnant. The
Chargers could not run the ball effectively all season, and that was the
primary issue in the team’s epic 27-point blown lead against the Jaguars
in the playoffs over the weekend.

The Chargers rushed for just 7 yards on seven designed rushes in a game
they needed to take over at the line of scrimmage and finish on the
ground. That performance, more than anything, is what led to these
firings. Herbert, who was dealing with fractured rib cartilage all
season, finished 2022 with career lows in touchdowns and yards per attempt.

Staley needs improvement from this offense, and he needs to find a
coordinator who can unlock Herbert’s full potential.

The Day firing is slightly surprising as he has a very close
relationship with Herbert. But this feels like a necessary move to
attract the top offensive coordinator candidates, who will likely want
to bring in their own staffers.

Here are six possible candidates to replace Lombardi.

Mike LaFleur, former Jets OC

LaFleur parted ways with the Jets earlier this month to pursue other
opportunities. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue reported over the weekend
that LaFleur is “one name to keep an eye on” for the Rams’ open
offensive coordinator position. NFL Network reported that LaFleur is
expected to join Sean McVay’s staff. But the Chargers’ opening would be
a play-calling opportunity for LaFleur, the younger brother of Packers
head coach Matt LaFleur. Mike LaFleur coached under Kyle Shanahan from
2015 to 2020, first with the Falcons and then with the 49ers.

Nathaniel Hackett, former Broncos head coach

Hackett’s stint in Denver ended unceremoniously. And the Broncos
offense, with Russell Wilson, was an abject disaster. But Hackett has
play-calling experience from his three seasons as the Jaguars’ offensive
coordinator from 2016 to 2018. He turned a Blake Bortles-led unit into a
functional offense. He appeared unready for his head-coaching
opportunity, but the Chargers could be a good fit. Hackett coached for
three seasons under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay from 2019 to 2021.

Thomas Brown, Rams assistant head coach/TEs coach

McVay, of course, cut his teeth as a young coach working on Mike
Shanahan’s Washington staff in the early 2010s. Kyle Shanahan was the
offensive coordinator. Matt LaFleur was the quarterbacks coach. McVay
was the tight ends coach. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was the wide
receivers coach. That is the tree Staley will likely be picking from.
And Brown has now worked under McVay for three seasons — first as the
running backs coach in 2020, adding the assistant head coach title
during the Super Bowl run in 2021, then switching from running backs to
tight ends this past season. The Chargers need to improve their running
game. That will be a priority as they conduct this search. Brown was an
NFL running back and has been involved in the running game at every stop
of his coaching career, in college and the pros.

Dan Pitcher, Bengals QBs coach

Pitcher has spent the past seven seasons coaching for the Bengals,
including the past four on Zac Taylor’s staff. He was the assistant
quarterbacks coach in 2019 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach
in 2020 for Joe Burrow’s rookie season. Taylor spent two seasons
coaching under McVay, including one season as quarterbacks coach in 2018
before the Bengals hired him as their head coach.

Zac Robinson, Rams pass game coordinator/QBs coach

Robinson played four seasons in the NFL as a quarterback from 2010 to
2013 before joining McVay’s staff as an assistant quarterbacks coach in
2019. He was the assistant wide receivers coach in 2020, went back to
assistant quarterbacks coach in 2021, and was promoted to passing game
coordinator and quarterbacks coach this past season.

Frank Reich, former Colts head coach

Reich, whom the Colts fired midseason, is already getting head-coaching
interviews. He reportedly interviewed for the Panthers’ opening last
week. But we will include him here in case he does not get a
head-coaching spot and is still looking for a play-calling job in 2023.
Reich spent three seasons on Mike McCoy’s Chargers staff from 2013 to
2015, first as the quarterbacks coach and then as the offensive
coordinator for two seasons. So there is some organizational familiarity
there.