...is there a light at the end of this tunnel ?

[Lightnin']

For once, I honestly can't see it.

I became a "TV Fan" of the Chargers during the Gilman era; they were MY TEAM; fun to watch, cool unis,
lots of great visuals watching the PM games from sun-splashed Balboa Stadium as a kid.

Even through periods of losing; '66-'78/'83-'91/'96-'03/'11 to ???; painful losses in AFL Championship games,
NFL playoff games, letting favorite players go, firing successful coaches, etc.-I always thought things would
get better.

In February of '07, with the dismissal of Coach Schottenheimer-my brain told me what my passion would not
accept; things will not "really" get better, despite trips and wins to the playoffs. Six predictable years later, my hope
was elevated by the firing of Smith and Turner. Obviously, it had to be done-but the choice of yet another
"young, emerging, offensive coordinator" (sound familiar ?) as HC has failed while the likes of candidates
such as Arians can't get an interview and succeed elsewhere, with less talent.

After yesterday's disaster, following a 4-12 campaign, now losing twice to previously winless Indy and New Orleans,
and clueless leadership/ownership on display, the question becomes, "is there a light at the end of this tunnel"
OTHER THAN the tail-lights of of moving vans with Chargers equipment headed out-of-town ?

[MakoShark]

Its a train about to jump the tracks.

[vinabolt]

A respected disciplinarian leader who can inspired the troops and transpired his toughness into the team. Who can motivate and lift the team morale and spirits. Who can get the team to play hard and play smart for 60 mins, all 4 quarters. McCoy and Whiz are tough guys, they're just having problems transpire that toughness into their teams.

He will be the "hero", the "savior", or the "light at the end of this tunnel" or whatever people want to call it.

The head coaches trend of "hot young potential" and "Belichick tree" are pretty much over. The hot trend right now is about the old and respected, oldschool long time NFL assistances. Follow that trend!

[Den60]

The answer is yes:

[TheDeafBolt]

My coach at the pee wee level made a point of screaming FIPS down out throats every practice. We learned to hate hearing about FIPS and knew that if we heard about it during a game we screwed up bad. We were barely teenagers but by God we had that drilled in our minds and mentally it set us up to make the right decision and stay focused. If not, there were consequences. Fumbles, Interceptions, Penalties and Stupidity were rare because of this. So why is it that mature (some more than others) adults can't avoid playing stupid. Do they need a coach that reminds them every series to not fumble? Not make a stupid penalty? Hardwick seems to think so per the broadcast this morning. But how is it that 12 year olds can have enough self discipline to protect the football in those situations and a first round RB and so called #1 WR on an NFL roster cannot grasp the fundamentals of football that they have been taught since they were 8 years old? Or, do they need to be re taught this every offensive possession? Do they have the capacity to still play hard and not screw up? Are their minds incapable of doing both? Are they like gamblers who can't walk away after winning because they don't have the mental capacity to stop gambling? If that's the case they have no business being on an NFL roster. If Gordon says "if you want me to play as hard as I can every play I'm not going to be able to focus on protecting the football because I can only focus on playing hard, not doing both" then we need to find another running back.

[vinabolt]

It's human nature to slack off and forget the fundamentals in some moments. So, they need a "reminder" to remind them through camps and throughout the week. And if they screw up, they will get punish for that. This is a violent team sport where you need strong leaders, you need strong voices and some bad a$$ captains and leaders on the team, the Steve Foleys, the Shawn Merrimans, Seaus, Harrisons. And it's start at the top.

Also, I forgot to say above that the coaching trend of "head coach-QB relationship" hoping to double-dip on value (Payton, Mike McCarthy, McCoy) are over. As those teams, including our team, haven't accomplish anything for a long time.

The QB is the most important position. But you can't win games with the rest of the team under perform, especially the defense.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

The answer is yes:

The John Spanos 505 can not be fire.

[Iowachargers]

From the Metallica song, .....it's just a freight train coming your way.

[sandiego17]

Lived through Mark Vlasic, Ryan Leaf, Moses Moreno/Ichabad Weihlahan, Dan Henning, Kevin Gilbride, June Jones, Mike Riley and of course Raider Steve Ortameyer. I can handle Milquetoast McCoy.

[6025]

Don't forget Harland Svare.

[Boltx]

I honestly do not know, and I am starting to worry.

At least with the end of the Norv era we had the prospect of a fresh/young new GM/HC tandem. Rivers still with good years left, and the slim possibility that the Spanos kids running the show might not be SO bad as they had been around enough bad decisions that hopefully they would know what NOT to do.

Fast forward 4 years. The team had one flukey playoff appearance in 2013, and has been getting rapidly worse since. McCoy is garbage. TT is garbage. Rivers will be 35 (?) next year. Either we start with another regime change next year OR we keep McCoy/TT longer than necessary and delay the inevitable change anyways. Either way...we are wasting time. Does Rivers have enough years left for either scenario? Probably not. Other possible scenarios include Rivers either getting hurt behind continually porous OLs, him retiring out of frustration, or him having the inevitable decline in skills. As you can see...ALL OF THE ABOVE SCENARIOS SUCK.

So unless there is some miraculous turn around, this team is headed towards probably a good 10+ years of irrelevance very soon. Whether it's in SD or elsewhere. But who are we kidding...this team has been irrelevant since 2009.

I know I'll get slammed for being a downer, but this is the frank reality of our situation.

[Mister Hoarse]

I honestly do not know, and I am starting to worry.

At least with the end of the Norv era we had the prospect of a fresh/young new GM/HC tandem. Rivers still with good years left, and the slim possibility that the Spanos kids running the show might not be SO bad as they had been around enough bad decisions that hopefully they would know what NOT to do.

Fast forward 4 years. The team had one flukey playoff appearance in 2013, and has been getting rapidly worse since. McCoy is garbage. TT is garbage. Rivers will be 35 (?) next year. Either we start with another regime change next year OR we keep McCoy/TT longer than necessary and delay the inevitable change anyways. Either way...we are wasting time. Does Rivers have enough years left for either scenario? Probably not. Other possible scenarios include Rivers either getting hurt behind continually porous OLs, him retiring out of frustration, or him having the inevitable decline in skills. As you can see...ALL OF THE ABOVE SCENARIOS SUCK.

So unless there is some miraculous turn around, this team is headed towards probably a good 10+ years of irrelevance very soon. Whether it's in SD or elsewhere. But who are we kidding...this team has been irrelevant since 2009.

I know I'll get slammed for being a downer, but this is the frank reality of our situation.

Agree with every word.
Slam away.