Spano Declares He Wants Chargers to Win--Now

On Bobby Ross’ first day as head coach of the Chargers Thursday, he announced there are no quick fixes in building a football team into a winner.

Oxygen, please, for team owner Alex Spanos.

“Hell’s bells, I don’t want to wait a year or two,” said Spanos after listening to Ross’ initial press conference. “I want it this year. Quite frankly, we have the team to do it this year.”

Less than two weeks ago the Chargers put the finishing touches to a 4-12 campaign. They have added no new players, have fired Dan Henning and coaching staff, and have hired a college football coach to start all over.

Happy new year.

“I’ll be damned if we don’t do it,” Spanos said. “I’ll tell you, I’m going to be very disappointed. The coach isn’t saying that, I’m saying that. We’ve got to win. What else is there? It’s winning. That’s why we’re here today; we haven’t been winning.”

When the Chargers hired Henning, it was only after Spanos had interviewed several candidates. Ross, however, was General Manager Bobby Beathard’s choice from the outset, and Spanos deferred to Beathard.

“It’s obvious this is one of Bobby’s choices, and if Beathard feels this is best for the ballclub, I have to tell you I go along with it,” Spanos said.