Chargers To Leave Glenn Unprotected : Pro football: Defensive line coach Gunther Cunningham to leave team.

Starting safety Vencie Glenn, a key contributor in the Chargers’ rise to defensive prominence the past five years, was told Friday that he was no longer wanted by the team.

General Manager Bobby Beathard said Glenn would not be protected under Plan B free agency and, along with linebacker Cedric Figaro and defensive back Lester Lyles, would not be allowed to return.

“We didn’t feel we got the production that we needed out of that position,” Beathard said. “We thought it best for the football team and Vencie to cut that cord and get on with things.”

Next season, the Chargers’ fifth-ranked defense also will do without the services of defensive line coach Gunther Cunningham, who has helped develop Leslie O’Neal, Lee Williams and Burt Grossman.

Cunningham, who directed the Chargers sack-happy attack the past six years, said he would leave to pursue other coaching opportunities in order to better realize his goal of becoming a coordinator or head coach.

Although Coach Dan Henning said he would take his time in filling the void left by Cunningham, it’s obvious the Chargers were in a rush to dispatch Glenn. The Chargers are not required to submit to the league their list of 37 protected players under Plan B free agency until Feb. 1.

However, the Chargers had grown weary of Glenn, Lyles and Figaro. The team has been concerned by Glenn’s carefree lifestyle and apparent lack of attention to conditioning. His delay in reporting to training camp because of prolonged contract negotiations further annoyed the Chargers.

Figaro, who lost his job to linebacker Junior Seau, became a sullen and uncooperative figure in the locker room. Lyles, a loner for much of his two-year stay in San Diego, had become disenchanted recently with a lack of playing time.

“It became clear they didn’t fit into our plans,” Beathard said. “This gives them time to latch on somewhere else.”

Beathard said the Chargers’ plan for now would be to employ Anthony Shelton or Gill Byrd at free safety in Glenn’s place. Shelton was acquired off waivers from the 49ers earlier this season, and played in a reserve role in 14 games.

“Anthony demonstrated he could make a play on the ball with that interception against the Raiders, and we hadn’t had anybody do that all year long,” Beathard said. “There’s good depth in the secondary in the draft, so if we can find help there at cornerback, we could move Gill to safety.”

Glenn, a starter in 65 of the team’s last 67 games, returned a John Elway pass a team-record 103 yards for a touchdown in 1987, and ran back a fumble a team-record 81 yards for a touchdown against the Giants in 1989.

Glenn was unavailable for comment Friday night, but in an interview prior to the team’s season finale against the Raiders, Glenn sensed he might have been playing his last game for the team.

“I’ve heard the rumors,” he said, “But I know this, I can play. And if I don’t play here, I’ll be playing somewhere next season.”

Glenn’s agent, Steve Feldman, said he “got wind of this” a few weeks ago. But asked for an explanation on why it was being done, he said, “I haven’t a clue.”

Glenn was acquired from New England in 1986 for a fifth-round pick in the 1987 draft. The Patriots soured on Glenn because they felt he wasn’t tough enough. But shortly after his arrival here, he won the respect of his teammates by playing with a fractured jaw.

This season he was slowed by a hamstring injury and, for the first time, missed a pair of starts.

“I know Vencie will say it was his injuries,” Beathard said. “But it’s an ongoing evaluation, and we just weren’t getting what we wanted.”

Cunningham, meanwhile, is wrapping up the final year of his contract. He recently turned down an offer to be head coach of the World League of American Football franchise in Germany.

“I have two children and have been in the National Football League for 10 years,” Cunningham said. “To go over to Europe and be out of the mainstream, well, it would almost feel like being a defensive line coach again.

“It’s been frustrating. I’d like to be a coordinator, and I don’t know if I can get there in the position I’ve been in. I think the world of Ron Lynn and have no animosity toward him. But I feel like I’m treading water.”

During Cunningham’s tenure, the Chargers averaged 45 sacks a season. The team finished second in the league with a club-record 62 sacks in 1986.

There were problems, however, at the end of this season with Cunningham’s troops. O’Neal and Grossman were involved in controversial published exchanges, and the Chargers have been criticized for playing Williams out of position.