The Chargers fired both Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, and Quarterbacks Coach Shane Day on Tuesday morning. Losing both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach most certainly means an entire scheme change for the Charger's offense. Here is a potential candidate to lead the Charger's Offensive Playcalling next season.
Frank Reich History
Frank Reich most recently spent time as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2022 and held a 54% win percentage. He was replaced as head coach by Jeff Saturday after an abysmal start to the season that included multiple quarterback changes. Reich could not find a reliable quarterback after the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck. Each season, he rotated to a new signal caller including Jacoby Brissett/Brian Hoyer (2019), Philip Rivers (2020), Carson Wentz (2021), and most recently Matt Ryan (2022). The inability to find consistency under center ultimately lost Reich his job.
Reich's coaching history includes four seasons as a head coach for the Colts, two seasons as an offensive coordinator for the Philidelphia Eagles (including a Super Bowl), two seasons as an offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, and he has been a positional coach working with wide receivers or quarterbacks from 2006-2013. During the 2009-2010 seasons, Reich was Payton Manning's position coach under Head Coach Jim Caldwell and Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore.
Case For Frank Reich
The case for Reich is the fact that he has been at the reigns of great quarterback play, which could benefit Justin Herbert. Payton Manning is a Hall of Famer, and Philip Rivers had some of his best statistical seasons with Reich. He also helped turn Carson Wentz into an MVP before a week-13 injury crushed any hope of that opportunity. Yet, Reich still managed to turn Nick Foles into a Super Bowl MVP and bring the Eagles home a Lombardi trophy.
Case Against Frank Reich
The case against is the Chargers already fired Frank Reich once in 2015 after finishing 4-12. Under Reich, the Chargers could never overcome their inability to find any sense of a run game. In 2014, Brandon Oliver led the Chargers in rushing with 582 yards, and in 2015, Melvin Gorden finished with 641 yards; neither of which finished over 3.6 yards per carry. During the Eagle's Super Bowl run, Josh Adams finished with 511 yards rushing. Reich's playcalling skews into a pass-heavy offense, and the inability to establish a run game could hurt the Chargers in the future.
Bottom Line
Frank Reich has a history as a head coach of a football team. That could benefit the Chargers overall, especially for Brandon Staley who has made questionable decisions in his role as head coach. Additionally, it was under a Frank Reich team that saw Jonathon Taylor rush for over 1,800 yards and 18 touchdowns, so maybe Reich is capable of finding a running game after all to complement Justin Herbert. Reich is a much better coach than he was as a Charger, so there is reason to believe that he can be successful if he makes a return.
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