After a committed process, the Chargers have landed their preferred candidate to lead their special teams. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team is hiring Ryan Ficken as their new ST coordinator (Twitter link).
Ficken had spent his entire NFL coaching career with the Vikings up to this point. After a three-year stint at UCLA, he came to Minnesota in 2007. Following six years as an assistant positional coach, he began the work on special teams for which he is now most well known. Despite his experience with the unit, 2021 was actually the first year in which he served as ST coordinator.
His tenure in Minnesota certainly left Ficken in high regard. As Pelissero notes, the Vikings blocked him from leaving at first, but the Chargers “pursued him hard” and ultimately made the hire. While there is plenty of optimism on the offensive side of the ball in particular in L.A., special teams are definitely an area where improvement is needed. The Bolts ranked 28th in ST DVOA in 2021, so Ficken could at a minimum try and bring the team closer to the middle of the pack, where the Vikings ranked last season.
This news also marks the second straight day that a Vikings coordinator leaves the team, as Klint Kubiak was hired as the Broncos’ QBs coach/passing game coordinator on Wednesday. Assuming Kevin O’Connell does become the new HC in Minnesota, he will clearly have work do in rebuilding some key parts of the team’s staff.
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