Chargers’ Trust Still in Henning, GM Beathard Says

It was far from a ringing endorsement, but it was the best Bobby Beathard, Chargers general manager, could do for his his beleaguered coach, Dan Henning.

“I can’t think of anything more disruptive at this point of the season,” Beathard said Monday when asked to respond to those who have called for Henning’s firing. “I think the fact that Dan has these players still playing hard and the players still think we’re going to win our share of the games, that’s as important as anything right now.

“If you wanted to disrupt everything and have utter chaos, I think the best way to do it would be to make a change.”

Beathard senses that the fans and reporters are the only ones interested in seeing Henning depart.

“If you put it to a vote, the players wouldn’t want a change,” he said. “A couple have even expressed that. Saying ‘Hey, I hope you’re not listening to those critics. We don’t need a change.’ When the players start blaming other things, I think that’s a bad sign. And right now they’re blaming no one but themselves and everybody in the organization. That’s the way it should be.”

Although Beathard understands that dismissing Henning would please many people, it would not make sense--at least not now.

“If you wanted to list all the good and bad things that would happen with the change, you can think of a lot of bad things, and you can’t think of good things,” Beathard said. “It might satisfy some critics temporarily. But as soon as things went bad or continued bad, it would just be another mistake we made. So I think the best thing for the team is to continue as we are. Except win.”

Beathard said that explanation has been good enough for owner Alex Spanos.

“Mr. Spanos has been terrific,” said Beathard, who talked with Spanos Monday. “I’ve been told how impatient he can be, but he’s been very understanding. I think he has a pretty good feel for it. He has not been urging a coaching change.”

How much is Beathard at fault for team’s 1-7 record?

“We’re all in this together,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m blame-free. I think that would be a cop out. When you don’t win I think no one’s immune from blame.”

Most of the blame from Sunday’s 30-24 overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns was directed at the team’s dismal pass rush, which sacked Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar once for three yards.

The Chargers’ 11 sacks are the lowest in the NFC along with Indianapolis and San Francisco.

Henning will attempt to change things by playing more people--a move he hopes will keep the starters fresh in the second half.

“When we logged out the last two weeks, we have about 12 defensive players that are playing about 95% of the snaps and we have another 10 defensive players playing only 5% of the snaps,” he said.

The move will mean more action for defensive lineman George Thornton and Mitchell Benson and linebacker Billy Ray Smith, who only played special teams Sunday, and less time for nose tackle Joe Phillips and linebackers Junior Seau and Henry Rolling.

Henning also said defensive end Burt Grossman, who was on the field for almost every snap, would play less.

“We are starting out fairly well, then we’re wearing down,” he said. “We’re not getting the pass rush at the end of the game or in the third quarter. I’m not sure Burt can play that much and still give us the kind of pass rush at the end of the game we need.”

Grossman didn’t blame fatigue for the Chargers’ inability to pressure Kosar. He didn’t blame anything. “I don’t know why we didn’t get to Kosar,” he said. “We thought we’d get him. It used to be we’d get to anybody.”

After watching films of Kosar riddle his secondary for 297 yards and two touchdowns, defensive coordinator Ron Lynn also was searching for answers.

“Kosar did a good job with his timing patterns and he did a good job of evading the rush,” Lynn said. “We dogged him, we blitzed him, we just could not make a play.”

If there was a question whether Arthur Cox was guilty of holding in the fourth quarter during the Chargers’ last drive of regulation, Henning said the films answered it.

“It’s a penalty,” Henning said matter-of-factly. “He was holding.”

The Chargers did not come out of Sunday with any serious injuries. Running back Rod Bernstine (hip pointer) and safety Anthony Shelton (shoulder) may miss some practice time, but both are expected to play Sunday in Seattle.