About a week ago the San Diego Chargers fired defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and replaced him with linebackers coach John Pagano. Pagano was initially shocked by the move, as he had been quite close with Manusky, but now his attention will turn to the task of reviving a Chargers defense that ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of yards given up in 2011 but was continually unreliable in shutting opposes teams down on third down.
On his hopes for 2012 :
We’re going to play sound, we’re going to be fundamentally smart, and we’re going to go out and we’re going to tackle the guy with the football, we’re going to put pressure on the quarterback, we’re going to covering them downfield, we’re going to create as much turnovers and havoc that we can to make sure we get out offense back the ball.
Obviously, it sounds like the familar laundry list of platitudes and aspirations that you’d get out of most coaches who have just been hired, but honestly, would you expect anything else?
In addition to the his hopes for what the Chargers defense will be able to acheive next season, Pagano also emphasized having continuity and the importance of a consistent message from coaches delivered to players. But will that be enough without significant upgrades at key defensive positions?
Chargers fans will wait and see.
Check out the rest of Pagano’s interview below (via the San Diego Union Tribune)
