Chargers Might Name Henning by Thursday
The leading candidate for the Chargers’ head coaching job continues to be Washington Redskins’ assistant Dan Henning. Fewer and fewer people in and around the NFL will be surprised if the Chargers make Henning’s appointment official. It could happen as early as Thursday.
“My gut feeling is I think it’s going to be Dan,” said Chicago Bears’ running backs coach Johnny Roland Tuesday. “It’s almost a charade.”
The more interesting question right now: Who’s in second place?
Roland says that Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers director of football operations, has told him he’s the second choice. Wayne Sevier, the Chargers’ special teams coach, says he’s a finalist.
Mike White, considered the front-runner for the job as late as last Friday, is the “floater” candidate according to Roland. But White hasn’t met with Ortmayer in 10 days and professes to be in the dark over the final selection.
White and Henning are the only candidates with previous head coaching experience. White coached at California and Illinois. Henning was 22-41-1 in four years with the Atlanta Falcons.
And Ron Lynn, the Chargers’ defensive coordinator, says he still considers himself a candidate until someone tells him differently.
Depending on whom you talk to Henning has a) already started assembling his offensive staff or b) not been told anything by Ortmayer.
Roland said conversations with other Washington assistants led him to believe that Henning didn’t think he was the first choice. “The plot thickens,” Roland said. “Unless Dan is just being coy.”
Asked if Henning is the leading candidate, Charger owner Alex Spanos said, “you’ll have to ask Steve (Ortmayer).”
Asked if Roland is the second choice, Spanos said, “you’ll have to ask Steve.”
This is Spanos’ way of saying the search and selection process is up to Ortmayer. Spanos will come back into the picture for final approval when Ortmayer meets with him and presents the owner with his choice. That meeting is expected to take place Thursday after Spanos returns to California from a New York business trip.
Sevier’s stock rose this week after it was learned that Ortmayer was consulting with former Rams’ Coach George Allen on the job search process. Allen was a strong proponent of special teams. And Sevier is one of the best special teams coaches in the business.
Allen said Tuesday he did not know who Ortmayer’s final choice would be. But, Allen said, “this a very important selection. The selection of a head coach is more important when you’ve been down than when you’ve been winning. This is much more vital for the Chargers (6-10 last year).”
Allen is out of coaching, serving as chairman of the National Fitness Foundation. He made his reputation resurrecting the careers of players adjudged to be past their prime by other teams.
He watched with interest last week as the NFL attempted to establish limited free agency. Each team protected 37 players. The rest became free unconditional free agents until April 1. When many teams left veteran players unprotected, Allen salivated.
“There’s an opportunity for some franchise to really make some astute acquisitions,” Allen said. “It all comes down to talent evaluation. When we were doing this I could sit down with a player and know after three minutes whether or not he’d fit in.”
Allen said he has talked with officials from Cleveland, Buffalo and Detroit about available players. But, he said, the Chargers have not asked for his advice on unconditional free agents.