Up to Speed- San Diego Chargers

LAST SEASON
The 2006 season was a magical ride to the moon on a licorice whip for the Chargers. LaDanian Tomlinson had one of the most insane seasons anyone had ever seen. LT rushed for 1815 yards, had 508 receiving yards, and scored THIRTY ONE TOUCHDOWNS. It was a once in a lifetime performance (which means that it won't be repeated this year, otherwise it wouldn't be once in a lifetime, duh). Meanwhile, Philip Rivers stepped into the starting quarterback role and was better than hoped for, throwing 22 TDs against 9 INTs, and posting a 92.0 passer rating, which put him in the top 10 in the league in his first season of on-field action. To top it all off, the defense was 2nd overall in the league, led by second year linebacker Shawne Merriman, who had 17 sacks despite playing in only 12 games due to a steroid suspension. The team went 14-2, was top seed in the AFC, and seemingly poised to win it all.

Then, the Chargers did what they always do in the playoffs, which is to lose, right away. The supposedly impermeable defense frittered away a 14-3 lead, as first ballot Hall of Famer Jabar Gaffney ran roughshod over their secondary and the Patriots stunned the Chargers 24-21.

OFFSEASON
The playoff loss brought with it reprocussions, lots of reprocussions. The Chargers felt that they could not win a Super Bowl with a coach who had a 5-13 lifetime mark in the playoffs, and that they would be much better off with a coach who as a 58-82-1 record in all games, Norv Turner. So head coach Marty Schottenheimer was axed, becoming the first coach in the history of time and space to be fired after a 14-2 season.

Not only is last year's head coach gone, but so is the offensive coordinator (Cam Cameron, now the head coach in Miami), and the defensive coordinator (Wade Phillips, now the head cheese in Dallas).

The guillotine didn't stop at the coaching staff, either. Leading tackler Donnie Edwards is gone, along with fellow 06 starting linebacker Randall Godfrey. They'll be replaced inside by Stephen Cooper, and Matt Wilhelm, who will be starters for the first time in their careers.

Gone from the offense is WR Keenan McCardell, who was largely ineffective last year (not even a single stinkin' TD), his replacement as the third wideout behind Eric Parker and Vincent Jackson will be 1st round draft pick Craig Davis out of LSU. The Chargers are leaning heavily on Jackson to continue to develop into a stud receiver after he caught 6 TD passes in his second pro season.

The Chargers have some of the most talented players in the league on their side. Tomlinson, Rivers, Merriman, Antonio Gates, linebacker Shaun Phillips, and defensive tackles Luis Castillo and Jamal Williams are all probably among the top 50 players in the league today, and you can probably add left tackle Marcus McNeill to that list too. There is no question they have the players to win the Super Bowl this year. But let's take a look at the coaches who have won the Super Bowl recently:

Tony Dungy
Bill Cowher
Bill Belichick
Jon Gruden
Brian Billick
Dick Vermiel
Mike Shanahan
Mike Holmgren

I dunno, call me an idiot, but I think Marty Schottenheimer's name looks a lot less out of place on that list than Norv Turner's does. Now you're up to speed on the Chargers.