Flash! Chargers Tinker With Line! : NFL: A new offensive line coach? Players in different positions? That’s hardly news, given recent history.

In an area where statistics aren’t easily generated, use this as a measure of the Chargers’ recent troubles on the offensive line: four coaches in four seasons. The turnover has not been because of success.

Alex Gibbs is the latest choice to turn the unit around. A former assistant with the Raiders and Denver Broncos, Gibbs is finding part of his job at this week’s mini-camp has been making the players feel comfortable not just with him but with themselves.

Several years of being blamed for offensive ineffectiveness, of watching draft day come around with team officials saying improving the offensive line is a priority, of watching coaches come and go, of seeing your job threatened and your position changed . . . all that has a way of getting to a player.

“They have been browbeaten and have been through so much,” Gibbs said Thursday. “Now the idea is to get them proud of what they’re doing, proud of themselves, and start to make some progress.”

But first, he has had to break them down again. The process began, as in the past, with a few more position changes.

After two seasons at left guard, Broderick Thomas was moved to right tackle to replace Brett Miller, lost to the New York Jets in Plan B free agency. And Dennis McKnight, back for his eighth season after missing last season because of leg surgery, was moved into Thompson’s old position. KcKnight’s change comes after a 1988 season in which he was named a Pro Bowl alternate at right guard.

Gibbs said he spent the early weeks after his hiring was announced Feb. 8 studying Charger game films and contemplating the changes. He said his rationale was what he saw and how he likes to structure his lines.

“Broderick Thompson is a power guy, and I like the power player on the team to be our right tackle,” Gibbs said. “I knew in Dennis McKnight I had a guy who has played in the league and understands what it takes to play smart. I knew he had to be on our unit.”

The rest of the line is unchanged, with David Richards at right guard, Courtney Hall at center and Joel Patten at left tackle. But this will be only their second season at the same position for the Chargers.

“I’ve got them all thoroughly confused now,” Gibbs said with a laugh.

By now, most of the veterans are used to adjustment. Change has been the only constant these past few years.

Few know that better than Thompson. In his four Charger seasons, he has worked under four position coaches at three different positions. This year, he is back at right tackle, where he started in 1987.

“My biggest wish is to get some consistency with the coaching so we can get acclimated to doing some of the same things for a couple of years,” Thompson said. “Four coaches in four years is tough. You have to change techniques and calls from year to year. There is no consistency to it.”

Thompson said that at first he was hesitant to change positions.

“I had been at guard for 2 1/2 years and I was looking for great things at that position because I was starting to get all my confidence there,” Thompson said. “I had my goals set on all pro, then this happened.”

But on reflection, Thompson said he decided the move might be for the best.

“I thought about how when I played tackle how good I felt after the games because there is not as much physical contact at tackle as there is at guard,” Thompson said. “You get more exposure at tackle. Tackles get a lot more exposure in the league than guards. But I knew it is going to take a lot of work on and off the practice field.”

McKnight is going through a similar adjustment process.

“It’s very hard for me right now,” McKnight said. “I’ve been on the right side of the line for seven years, and now I’m on the left. What were my strong points on the right are now my weak points on the left.

“This is easier on Broderick because he is such a good athlete. I’m more of what I call a ham-and-egg man, a Rocky Balboa, a club fighter. I’m not a good technician. I just go out and street brawl, and it’s not pretty. But when the game is over, the guy across from me didn’t get any tackles.”

Gibbs expects McKnight to succeed in his new role.

“I know he is going through some frustrations,” Gibbs said. “But when the games start, he will be fine.”

For all the changes, there could have been more, and instead of shuffling positions, they might have left one of the returning players out of a job.

The Chargers went into the draft three weeks ago looking for help at offensive line. They had planned on taking offensive tackle Richmond Webb of Texas A&M; in the first round until inside linebacker Junior Seau of USC fell to them with the fifth pick. After they passed on Webb, who was taken ninth by Miami, they tried to trade up for offensive guard Keith Sims of Iowa State.

When that too failed, the Chargers had to wait until the seventh pick of the third round for their first offensive lineman--Leo Goeas of Hawaii. The Chargers then took four more, but while Gibbs said some have impressed him, he considers them players for the future rather than challengers for starting jobs.

“I really don’t see anybody threatening the front group for jobs,” Gibbs said. “What I am looking for is three good backups. Looking at last year, it was when there were injuries that things went worse.”

Some of the help at guard and tackle could come from three Plan B players signed over the past two seasons. But Gibbs so far has only been able to evaluate Tom Toth, signed from Miami. Injuries have kept tackle Larry Williams and guard Mike Simmonds on the sideline.

Charger Notes

Reserve outside linebacker David Brandon will undergo knee surgery within the next two weeks and could be out for the season, Coach Dan Henning said. Henning said the injury was diagnosed as a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament during an arthroscopic examination conducted by team doctor Gary Losse. Brandon, 25, injured his right knee in practice Wednesday as he was trying to go around rookie offensive tackle Leo Goeas. Brandon, acquired in a trade with Buffalo in 1987, is a free agent. But a team spokesman said all unsigned veterans at mini-camp signed a waiver promising they would receive at least an amount equal to their 1989 salary if injured. Brandon received $145,000 in base pay in 1989. . . . Several other players did not practice because of injuries: Wide receiver Quinn Early (hamstring), defensive end Burt Grossman (groin), cornerback David Pool (hamstring) offensive tackle David Richards (back), and wide receivers Wayne Walker (quadriceps) and Walter Wilson (ankle). Henning said none of the injuries were considered serious, and most of the players were held out for precautionary reasons. . . . Rookie outside linebacker Jeff Mills has been excused to return to New Jersey to attend to personal business. . . . Offensive guard Dennis McKnight said he has resigned after two seasons as the team’s player representative because he was upset that the NFL Players Assn. has not taken a stronger stance against the league’s drug-testing policies. He said he was particularly upset by a meeting between Atlanta tackle Bill Fralic and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Fralic is an outspoken advocate of a more rigorous testing program. The Chargers have not elected a replacement for McKnight. . . . The mini-camp concludes today with workouts at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.