See ya, Swinton...Welcome Ryan Ficken, the Next ST Coordinator

[Bolt4Knob]

Chargers hiring Ryan Ficken from the MN Vikings to be special teams coach.

[Bolt-O]

[dmac_bolt]

Chargers hiring Ryan Ficken from the MN Vikings to be special teams coach.

I thought they already hired some other guy to be ST Coach?

[Bolt-O]

Apparently this is a rare lateral move. Probably ok'ed because Harbaugh, if hired, wants his own people.

Football Outsiders Special Teams rank for the Vikings was #13

Edit... Harbaugh no longer a Vikings HC candidate... dropped out.

[Bolt4Knob]

I thought they already hired some other guy to be ST Coach?

Interviewed two guys with affiliation to the Giants

On twitter, Pelissero broke the story - he lives in Minneapolis and many vikings fans responded and are not happy. They all think Ficken did a good job. A lot of good feedback. One guy thinks Ficken could be in line to interview for a head coach down the road. That detailed and organized.

So sounds like a good hire as this bottom third of the league in special teams has to stop

[Bolt-O]

[CivilBolt]

Wow that’s a huge improvement

[Bolt-O]

From boltsfromthblue:

Ficken has spent the last 15 years in Minnesota holding down a variety of roles over the years. His first two seasons (2007-2008) were spent as the assistant running backs coach before transitioning to assistant wide receivers coach from 2009-2012. Starting in 2013, Ficken took the role as assistant special teams coordinator, a position he held until the 2020 season before being promoted to special teams coordinator prior to the 2021 season.

In his first season at the helm, Ficken helped improve a unit that was close to abysmal in 2020. The Vikings finished 15th in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings and they earned a 90.0 overall special teams grade by Pro Football Focus, good for 10th in the league.

The Vikings finished second in the NFL in average yards per kickoff return at 26.5 yards and tied for third in average starting field position on kickoffs (26.6-yard line).

Rookie returner Kene Nwangwu enjoyed a breakout rookie season under Ficken en route to being name to the All-NFC Team by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA). He averaged 32.3 yards per kick return and was the only player with multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2021.

[Bolt-O]

[Bolt-O]

https://www.chargers.com/news/ryan-ficken-chargers-special-teams-coordinator-announcement

The Los Angeles Chargers today announced the addition of Special Teams Coordinator Ryan Ficken to Head Coach Brandon Staley's coaching staff for the upcoming 2022 season. He returns to The City of Angels, where he got his start in coaching as a defensive assistant (2004-05) and offensive assistant (2006) at UCLA.

A 15-season NFL coaching veteran, Ficken spent his entire NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings, serving as the team's special teams coordinator in 2021 after assisting with the unit for the previous eight seasons. He orchestrated a special teams unit that led the NFC in kickoff return average and coached kicker Greg Joseph to lead the conference with 33 made field goals, while wide receiver Kene Nwangwu led the NFL with two kickoff return touchdowns.

Ficken coached Cordarrelle Patterson to league-wide recognition, including a pair of Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro selections from The Associated Press. Since moving to special teams in 2013, he helped five different players earn NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors, including Nwangwu this year in Week 9.

Before serving as the assistant special teams coach from 2013-20, Ficken spent four years (2009-12) as the Minnesota's assistant wide receivers coach. His first season at the position saw Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin III named as Pro Bowlers and Harvin earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Ficken assisted with running backs for two seasons (2007-08), helping Adrian Peterson to be named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2007. Peterson set the NFL's single-game rushing record of 296 yards as a rookie and, in his second season with Ficken, paced the NFL with 1,760 rushing yards.

[Xenos]

Well glad that this finally got resolved. I was wondering what was taking so long.

[Xenos]

Glad it’s finally done. It was almost like waiting for a new HC given how long it took lol.