After landing two of the most highly sought after men on the NFL market by naming Tom Telesco general manager and Mike McCoy head coach, the Chargers announced today they are hiring former Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt as their new offensive coordinator.
“Ken has a lot of experience and has had much success in the NFL in both Arizona and Pittsburgh,” said McCoy. “He has a very creative mind and will be a great asset for me and our team. I look forward to working with him.”
Whisenhunt has been a hot candidate for various openings around the league, but as he stated last week when he interviewed with the Chargers for the head coaching vacancy, he’s a big fan of this franchise.
“I have great respect for the San Diego Chargers,” he said at that time. “Every time I’ve played them, they’ve been good football teams and we had battles whether I was in the AFC or the NFC. (I’m impressed) with the way they do business, so I have a tremendous amount of respect for them.”
For the past six seasons, Whisenhunt oversaw arguably the most successful stint in Cardinals history. Under his guidance, they won two division titles, their first since 1975, and made their lone Super Bowl appearance in 2009.
Joining the Chargers as offensive coordinator marks the second time in his career that he will hold that position. He was the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004-06, and was their play-caller when they won Super Bowl XL in 2006.
