Los Angeles Chargers

Do the San Diego Chargers Need a Makeover?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:44 p.m. ET

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Aug 13, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman (52) against the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason NFL football game at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Chargers are ripe for a rebuild; could be one off-season away from being a legitimate contender.

The Thursday Night Football matchup between the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos marks the NFL’s entrance into it’s sixth week of play. At this point in the season, many teams look ripe for a roster rebuild.

Because at least four weeks of game film exist on each NFL team, the ‘rebuild-ables’ have assessable bodies of work.

Let us begin with the San Diego Chargers. Do the Chargers need a rebuild?

General Assessment

The Chargers played well last night against the Broncos. But did they play well enough not to warrant needing a rebuild? I think so actually.

The Chargers are a curious case. I think the franchise suffers from the fact that they are being haunted by relocation. Psychologically, I think that looms over the entire franchise. It should be interesting whether the Chargers decide to remain in San Diego next year. This quandary is microcosmic for the place that the Chargers find themselves in: somewhere on a spectrum between awful and legitimate contender with nowhere in between.

As last nights game suggests, the Chargers are not as bad as their sub-.500 record suggests. They have lost quite a few close games this season, and they need to do a better job of finishing games. Often that either is related to the attitude of certain key players on the roster or the identity of the team that begins with the head coach.

The San Diego fan base deserves more consistency than just an occasional Thursday Night victory against the Broncos. Unfortunately, the 1-4 start to the season is going to make the playoffs a near impossibility for 2016.

They can only hope for a collapse by the Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.

Oct 13, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy looks on from the sideline during the first half of the game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Head Coach

Head Coach Mike McCoy may have one of the hottest seats in the NFL. McCoy’s offense has been mediocre during his tenure, and the defense has been wildly inconsistent.

The team and it’s owners (the Spanos family) are growing weary of the Chargers inability to break through the AFC West. Before Peyton Manning arrived in Denver, the Chargers had consistent divisional success. Going back to the Schottenheimer era, the Chargers built a decent roster in the late 2000’s. The Chargers relieved Schottenheimer from his position after several playoff appearances, and the team has plummeted since. Over the past few seasons, all of which during McCoy’s tenure, the team feels like it has taken numerous steps backwards.

The Chargers are now looking up from the cellar in the AFC West, and I think the team will want a new head coach with the attitude to fight to the top.

One key is that the Chargers have an established quarterback in place. There are many places a new head coach could land where they’ll have someone like Philip Rivers under center. This could be an interesting fit for Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott to land.

General Manager Tom Telesco has a personal connection to New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels– both attended John Carroll University.

Oct 2, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA;San Diego Chargers offensive guard D.J. Fluker (76) awaits the snap during the first half of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Qualcomm Stadium. New Orleans won 35-34. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Finances

Entering the 2017 off-season, the Chargers won’t have a ton of cap space. As of now, the team should have just under $10,000,000 in cap space if they enter the 2017 league year.

If the Chargers want to clear the most space possible, Philip Rivers will be their top earner next season. He will be occupying nearly 13% of the team’s payroll ($20,000,000). If the Chargers choose to move on from Rivers (more on that later), they could triple the amount of cap space they would have available.

After Rivers, the Chargers highest paid salaries are: Brandon Flowers ($11,000,000 or 7%), Corey Liuget ($9,500,000 or 6%), and D.J. Fluker ($8,821,000 or 5.7%). Of those three, only Fluker could be released without any additional dead cap money being owed.

Generally speaking, teams like to enter the off-season with at least $20,000,000 available to spend between free agency and the NFL draft. The Chargers’ current figure, $10,000,000, could become problematic if a rebuild is going to take place. Thus, the team will undoubtedly have to trade or cut several higher paid players.

The team’s status with the city of San Diego could also be an issue as the negotiations for a new stadium continue.

Feb 25, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Diego Chargers general manager Tom Telesco speaks to the media during the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Draft

The Bolts’ recent draft history is inconsistent. While last years draft yielded two excellent selections in Joey Bosa and Hunter Henry, the rest of the team’s draft record has been hit-or-miss.

The Chargers top 2016 selection, defensive end Joey Bosa, held out after the team refused to cave on off-set contract language. After last night’s game, however, Bosa’s ceiling seems to be pretty high. In 2015, the Chargers’ drafted running back Melvin Gordon; Gordon failed to find the end zone until this season.

If the Chargers decide to trade Philip Rivers this off-season, they would probably try to draft a quarterback going forward. Obviously, this would be the primary concern of the Chargers entering the draft; if they have a new head coach, he would likely want to groom his own quarterback.

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If the Chargers choose to build around Rivers, they could continue to invest picks in the offensive line. Last year, the Chargers chose USC center Max Tuerk early; the team also signed guard Orlando Franklin to a decent sized contract last off-season. Left tackle King Dunlap does a decent job protecting Rivers’ blind side.

The Chargers have glaring holes on defense. Regardless of the addition of defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, they still lack the physicality to dominate opposing offensive lines. San Diego will also look to upgrade most of their secondary.

Oct 13, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) passes during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Assets

Of all of the Chargers players, I think linebacker Denzel Perryman is one of the team’s biggest assets. Perryman is one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, and I think he will be the heart and soul of the Chargers future defensive unit. The Chargers linebacker unit is pretty good, I also really like the play of Manti Teo and Jerry Attaochu.

Continuing the legacy of outstanding tight end play for the Chargers, Hunter Henry will be a good player going forward. Next year, Henry will be an even more effective target; Keenan Allen will draw double coverage and safeties are play deep off of speedster Travis Benjamin, opening the flats up for Henry.

All of this comes down to Philip Rivers. Rivers is the Chargers’ most important asset. Although Rivers isn’t exactly a spring chicken, he continues to play at an above average level as compared to other NFL quarterbacks. Rivers has the ability to be the Chargers leader for the foreseeable future, or he could head elsewhere to help a different franchise.

Rebuild or Recharge?