Dialogue with Dean

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Friday, Nov 21, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Chargers.com sat down today with Chargers President Dean Spanos and his thoughts on the season and the club’s efforts to build a new stadium in San Diego County.

After playing in the AFC Championship Game a year ago, expectations were high for this team coming into the season. What are your thoughts about why the team currently sits at 4-6?

“Obviously I’m as disappointed as anybody. I think everybody’s expectations were high. Looking back over the last 10 games, I don’t think it’s any one specific area. I think it’s a lot of different areas where we’re struggling right now. The criticism seemed to be focused on the defense and obviously there have been some issues on that side of the ball, but our running game has struggled somewhat. And some of the players aren’t playing to the level we’d hoped they’d play to. A lot of our struggles are due to injuries. That’s not an excuse, but rather an explanation as to some of the reasons why we’re not having the success we’d like.”

What has disappointed you the most about the season?

“Obviously the record. As we’ve always said around here, you have to be good, you have to be lucky and you have to be injury free. We’ve had our share of injuries and maybe more so than normal. I think there have also been a couple situations where we’ve been very unlucky. I still believe we’re a good team. I still have confidence in our players and coaches. There are still six games to go in this season and anything can happen. It looked pretty bleak last year when we were 1-3 and then 5-5, but we pulled ourselves out. We got ourselves into the playoffs and advanced to the AFC Championship Game. I’m not making any predictions other than I think our team is going to continue to play hard and anything can happen.”

What has happened this season that has pleased you the most or increased your optimism for the future?

“I think that one of the bright spots has been the play and leadership of our quarterback. He’s had some ups and downs, but I think, generally speaking, Philip Rivers has done an outstanding job this year. He’s really taken the next step in my mind. I think he’s just going to continue to get better and better.”

Looking back, how do you think the amount of travel the Chargers have done – Miami, Buffalo, London, Pittsburgh … all losses – has impacted the season?

“I don’t think that has had any impact at all. I can probably make a compelling argument that the trip to London was a very positive thing. I never heard anything but positive comments from the players and coaches and staff. It was a great experience for everybody. Unfortunately we didn’t win the game, but I never heard any complaints like, ‘This was a long trip to take and if we hadn’t gone all the way over there we would have won.’ I think that’s just an excuse and I haven’t heard that around here. I go back to 2005 when we faced five teams in a row that were coming off their byes and won four of the five games. You can’t worry about things like that. You just prepare each week and go out and do the best you can.”

This week you said Head Coach Norv Turner would return next season. What prompted you to make that pronouncement?

“There was a lot of speculation in the media as there is a lot of times. I was asked the question and to me this was in no way a vote of confidence. People take it as that, but it’s a mere fact that Norv is going to be back. It wasn’t even discussed between A.J. Smith and myself because there was never an issue there. Norv was always coming back. You can take it for whatever it was worth, but it was really in response to a question from the media. I felt like if I made that statement, it would put it to rest and it’s a non-issue.”

From being around the team, assess your team’s confidence level.

“We’re in a must-win situation. We need to win. We’ve got six games left. We can end strong and put ourselves hopefully in a position to play Denver the last game of the year for the division championship. Nobody has given up. Everybody still has a lot of confidence that they can go out and win these games.”

How important is this three-game home-stand that the Chargers begin on Sunday and, in particular, this Sunday’s game against the Colts?

“I think it’s very important because you’d like to think you have the advantage playing at home. To have three in a row is very unusual. We need to take advantage of that. We’ve played well at home over the last couple of years and these are three games that we really need to win. Our fans have been great all year. We need them more than ever right now. They can really make a difference.”

Gaylord Entertainment recently announced they’ve scrapped plans for a hotel and convention project in Chula Vista. Does that have an effect on the Chargers’ plans in the SouthBay?

“It’s too early to say, because no one is sure yet about all the facts and details concerning Chula Vista’s position and the Port Commission’s position in regards to Gaylord’s decision. It’s something we’re going to take a look at. Mark Fabiani has been working hard with the City of Chula Vista and the Port. We’re still pursuing our other site options in Chula Vista, so it’s a work in progress. We’re still monitoring very closely to see what’s going to happen with the power plant. That seems to be

the key thing right now.”

Earlier this month, San Diegans elected a new city attorney and also voted down a proposal to put a deck on the port terminal property, a speculated location for a new stadium. How do you feel those two decisions effect the Chargers, if at all?

“It doesn’t change anything right now in the short term because we’re still working very hard in Chula Vista. We haven’t given up there. We still think there’s an opportunity. Obviously the economic times today make it very difficult for anybody to do anything, let alone build a stadium. With the previous city attorney not returning, whether there’s an opportunity in San Diego or not, at least we feel and I think the city feels there are more open lines of communication with everybody, not just with the Chargers. It’s going to be easier to do business in San Diego. When you can have an open line of discussion and dialogue, it’s always positive. That wasn’t the case with the previous city attorney.”

Is there anything new to report on the search for a new stadium to give Chargers fans hope and optimism for the future?

“We’re still working very hard with the City of Chula Vista, and we’re still trying to come up with a viable solution that works for the city and for us. Right now the key element is the power plant.”

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