The Los Angeles Chargers fired Brandon Staley following their blowout loss to the Las Vegas Raiders and are officially starting their search for a new head coach. Whether it’s a legend like Bill Belichick or a relative unknown, this new Chargers head coach will have the unique opportunity to build around a true franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert during the peak of his career. Even though Los Angeles is in a terrible salary cap position, this opening is likely considered to be one of the best available in the upcoming hiring cycle.
Historically speaking, the Chargers have preferred to hire first-year head coaches, but that could be changing soon. Speaking to reporters last week, team president John Spanos said the team is looking for an experienced leader and implied that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might be the right man for the Chargers.
John Spanos Implies Bill Belichick Could Be Chargers Next Head Coach
Spanos Wants Experience
To be clear, Spanos never came out and directly said that he was targeting Bill Belichick to be the Chargers next head coach. The eight-time Super Bowl champion is still under contract with the Patriots, and to do so would be blatant tampering. However, we can read between the lines to see that Spanos is probably talking about Belichick.
Even though he’s in the midst of a down stretch in New England, Bill Belichick is the most experienced head coach out there and the Chargers would have to pay up to secure his services. Spanos addressed both of these issues in a recent interview.
First, Spanos discussed how he’d prefer his next head coach to have head coaching experience. “I don’t think it can be the end-all, but absolutely it will factor. That’s an added bonus if someone does have previous head coach experience.” Next, Spanos addressed the financial aspect of the hiring. While some accuse the organization of pinching pennies, the team president said that “there have been no discussions internally about there being a max” amount of money to hire a new coach.
Of course, the fact that the Chargers are also looking for a general manager also makes Bill Belichick a likely head coach. Belichick has had complete control of New England’s roster for two decades now, and he’s not going to want to give up that power.
Is Bill Belichick the Right Head Coach For the Chargers?
At the peak of his powers, Bill Belichick was the best head coach in football by a wide margin. However, time comes for us all, and the head coach has not adapted to the latest trends in the game. Over the past few seasons, Belichick has tried to win by playing good defense, establishing the run, and getting by with an unremarkable passing attack. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work in today’s NFL – you need an elite offense if you want to compete, and trying to recapture the Rob Gronkowski-Aaron Hernandez magic simply isn’t going to work. Based on talent alone, those are two of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, and you can’t get the same results with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
If Bill Belichick is going to work out as the Chargers head coach, he’ll need to accept the fact that wide receivers are vital in today’s game. Justin Herbert is great and is gifted enough to make any offense adequate. However, providing him with a true number one could make this team lethal, and Belichick hasn’t shown a willingness to do that since he acquired Randy Moss and Wes Welker back in 2007.
The good news is that he can still coach a defense. Last year, New England’s defense was a top-five unit by just about every metric, and it’s still a strong group in 2023 despite losing its two best players in Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez.
Ultimately, the Chargers should probably go with an offensive-minded coach to get the most out of Justin Herbert. However, Bill Belichick wouldn’t be the worst hire, as he could probably fix the defense while allowing Herbert to be great on his own.
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