The Chargers flourished with Ken Whisenhunt at the helm of their offense in 2013.
On Friday, the team announced he is returning to the same post as the Bolts reached an agreement with Whisenhunt to become their new offensive coordinator. The offense had a banner year in 2013 under his guidance, finishing fifth in yards per game (393.3), fourth in passing yards per game (270.5) and 13th in rushing yards per game (122.8). As a result, he was named the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.
Whisenhunt has an excellent rapport with Philip Rivers, as the quarterback had one of his finest seasons under his guidance. Number 17 was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year and selected to the Pro Bowl after completing a team-record and NFL leading 69.5% of his passes for 4,478 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions for a team-record tying 105.5 passer rating. Rivers set a new Chargers mark with 378 completions (which he has since passed) while setting a franchise record with three 400-yard passing games. He also became the first Charger to throw for more than 400 yards in consecutive games. Rivers eclipsed 390 yards four times, tying Dan Marino (1984) and Joe Montana (1990) for the most in a season in NFL history. He also joined Brett Favre (2009) and Drew Brees (2011) as the only quarterbacks to complete at least 20 passes and 80% of his pass attempts three times in a season.
Not only did Rivers and the passing game operate at a high level, but the Bolts also thrived on the ground with a potent rushing attack in 2013. Ryan Mathews ran for a career-high 1,255 yards, while Danny Woodhead had his best year to date with 1,034 yards from scrimmage, 76 catches and eight touchdowns.
A former tight end and H-Back with the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins and New York Jets before becoming a coach, Whisenhunt worked his way up the ranks as an assistant coach for 10 season. He spent six years as tight ends coach (Baltimore 1997-98, New York Jets 2000 and Pittsburgh 2001-03), one as a special teams coach (Cleveland 1999) and three as an offensive coordinator (Pittsburgh 2004-06), and landed his first head coach position with the Arizona Cardinals in 2007. Whisenhunt won a franchise-record 49 games over six seasons with the Cardinals, and went 4-2 in the postseason including an appearance in Super Bowl XLIII after a team-record 12-win season in 2008. He was hired as head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2014 and served in that role through the first eight weeks of 2015.
