Meet the 2013 Chargers Coaching Staff

It’s been a busy week for new Head Coach Mike McCoy, and chief among his many responsibilities has been assembling his coaching staff. While some positions are still being decided upon, here is who we know will join him on the sidelines come the start of the 2013 season. We will update this list as new coaches sign their contracts, so be sure to check back often.

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OFFENSE

Offensive Coordinator: Ken Whisenhunt – A highly sought after candidate, Whisenhunt was hired late last week to be the team’s play caller on offense. Prior to joining the Bolts, he spent the last six seasons as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. During his stint, he oversaw the most successful span in Arizona’s franchise history as they won two division titles, their first since 1975, and made their lone Super Bowl appearance in 2009. Prior to taking over the Cardinals, Whisenhunt won the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh in 2006 as their offensive coordinator. | READ MORE ON WHISENHUNT

Quarterbacks Coach: Frank Reich – A former NFL passer in his own right, Reich joins the Chargers as QB coach where he will play an important role in working with Philip Rivers. Reich spent the past seven years coaching various positions on offense with both the Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts. During his playing days, he had one of the most memorable performances in NFL postseason history as he led the Buffalo Bills to a 41-38 victory in the 1992 AFC Championship Game after they trailed 35-3 in the third quarter.| READ MORE ON REICH

Running Backs Coach: Ollie Wilson – The 2013 campaign will mark Wilson’s 23^rd NFL season and his 11^th with the Chargers. During his coaching career, the well-respected Wilson has split his time between the Atlanta Falcons and the Bolts, having a pair of stints at each stop.

Wide Receiver Coach: Fred Graves - Most recently with the Carolina Panthers, Graves comes to the Bolts with 11 seasons of NFL coaching experience and 26 years spent at the collegiate level. Some of the names he's helped emerge during his tenure include Steve Smith, Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, Roy Williams and Eric Mouls. | READ MORE ON GRAVES

Tight Ends Coach: Jason Michael – A versatile coach, Michael has served in various offensive capacities over his seven NFL seasons. For the past two, he has been in charge of the tight ends here in San Diego, and under his guidance, Antonio Gates became the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions.

Offensive line Coach: Joe D'Alessandris - D'Alessandris joins the Chargers coaching staff after spending the previous three seasons in charge of the Buffalo Bills offensive line. In 2011, the unit allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL (23) while this season did a superb job opening up lanes in the run game for both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. | READ MORE ON D'ALESSANDRIS

Assistant Offensive Line Coach: Andrew Dees – Dees served last season as the assistant offensive line coach under new Chargers offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris with the Buffalo Bills. It marked his first year coaching in the NFL after 15 seasons at the collegiate level.

Quality Control – Offense: Nick Sirianni – Sirianni joins the Chargers as the offensive quality control coach after spending four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. The first three years of his NFL coaching career was spent as an offensive quality control coach before he transitioned to wide receivers coach last season. Prior to the Chiefs, he spent five years coaching in college.

Coaching Assistant: Mark Ridgley – Ridgley joins the Chargers after completing the 2012 season as a coaching intern for the team. Prior to that he was the Defensive Graduate Assistant at Central Michigan from 2010-11. He will have a wide range of responsibilities in assisting coach McCoy as well as the offense.

DEFENSE

Defensive Coordinator: John Pagano – While this has been a time of great change in the organization, McCoy wisely saw fit to keep some members from the 2012 coaching staff. Of those retained, Pagano is the biggest name and with good reason. Under his guidance as defensive coordinator, San Diego ranked ninth in the league, surrendering just 326.4 yards per game, sixth against the run (96.4 ypg), 18^th against the pass (230.1 ypg) and 16^th in points allowed (21.9 ppg). Due to his unit’s success, it’s no surprise that many of his fellow coaches on defense were kept as well. | READ MORE ON PAGANO

Defensive Line Coach: Don Johnson – A member of the Chargers coaching staff since 2009, Johnson returns for his fifth season as defensive line coach. Prior to joining the Bolts, Johnson coached for the Chicago Bears, where he played a key role in leading them to Super Bowl XLI, and the Oakland Raiders. | READ MORE ON JOHNSON

Linebackers Coach: Joe Barry – Fiery and passionate, Barry is an extremely popular coach among San Diego’s linebacker corp. He joined the Chargers prior to the 2012 season after spending two years as linebackers coach for the University of Southern California. Prior to that, Barry served as defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions for the 2007-08 seasons. | READ MORE ON BARRY

Assistant Linebackers Coach: Byron Storer – After one season as a special teams assistant with the Bolts, Storer transitions to the defensive side of the ball as an assistant coach working with the linebackers. The 2013 season marks his fourth year as a coach after playing three seasons as a fullback and special teams standout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Secondary Coach: Ron Milus - Milus comes to the Chargers after most recently coaching the same position with the Broncos. Under his guidance, Denver surrendered the third fewest yards per game through the air (199.6).

Assistant Secondary Coach: Greg Williams – A promising young coach, Williams landed his first NFL coaching job with the Chargers in 2009. While a member of the staff, a linebacker led the Chargers defense in sacks in each of his seasons with the team. He now moves over to the secondary, a position he coached collegiately for three seasons. | READ MORE ON WILLIAMS

Quality Control – Defense: Chad Grimm – After four seasons as the offensive quality control coach with the Arizona Cardinals, Grimm signs on to be the defensive quality control coach for the Chargers. He is the son of NFL coach and Hall of Fame player Russ Grimm.

Special Teams

Special Teams Coordinator: Kevin Spencer - Boasting an impressive 22-year resume, Spencer joins the Chargers after a six year stint with the Arizona Cardinlas and a five year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He won the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh back in 2006 and helped guide the Cardinals to an NFC Title in 2009. Spencer was named the 2003 NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year. | READ MORE ON SPENCER

Assistant Special Teams Coach: Craig Aukerman – Aukerman boasts 12 years of coaching experience, including a decade at the collegiate level before spending the past two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He spent the 2011 campaign as a defensive assistant before moving into a special teams role in 2012.

Strength and Conditioning

Strength and Conditioning Coach: Kent Johnston - A veteran of 19 NFL seasons and over 25 years of coaching experience, Johnston joins the Bolts after holding the same position with the Cleveland Browns. Most notably, he was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Green Bay Packers in the mid-90s when the team strung together six playoff berths, three division championships, two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win.

Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Rick Lyle - A former player who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, Lyle joins the Chargers after spending the previous four seasons as the assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Cleveland Browns. Lyle began coaching in 2006 as the assistant strength and conditioning coach and nutrition coordinator for the Jets.