Cottrell charged with keeping San Diego defense in line
If there's a question with San Diego this season it's with the coach, and it should be. But it's not the head man, Norv Turner, I'm talking about; it's defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell.
Here's why: 1) He didn't coach last year; 2) he follows the highly successful Wade Phillips, now head coach of the Dallas Cowboys; and 3) his previous two coaching tours ended abruptly.
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| San Diego is Ted Cottrell's fourth stop as a defensive coordinator. (Getty Images) |
And Cottrell is a class guy with a history of success.
But he's in a tough spot. Yes, he knows Phillips' system -- heck, he coached it in Buffalo; why else do you think Smith thought of him immediately? -- and, yes, he has an abundance of talent, especially in his front seven.
But talent doesn't necessarily translate to success.
The Minnesota Vikings had all sorts of talent on their 2005 defense, yet midway through the season they went out and hired Foge Fazio to serve as a defensive consultant -- the implication being that Cottrell needed help.
A year later, Cottrell was off the sidelines and in the NFL office on Park Avenue.
"Working with the league office I got an opportunity to see games and see what other people were doing without having to worry about putting a game plan together," said Cottrell. "I would spend hours there, especially after work, and watch tape.
"So it was really kind of like one of those kick-back-and-relax things where you get yourself energized if it does happen. Because I wasn't even planning on coming back to coaching.
"I was on a different track. I was out of it. I was done with the football. The reason I came back was A.J. and knowing him and the opportunity of working with Norv and this team. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't have come back."
Cottrell could be the right guy in the right situation. When the Chargers talked about a defensive coordinator, Smith argued for continuity, and there was no one more familiar with Phillips' defense than Cottrell.
He ran it in Buffalo, and he ran it well. In his three seasons as a coordinator under Phillips his units never finished lower than sixth in total defense and, in 1999, led the league.
