Report: Chargers Hire Mike McCoy as Head Coach

The Arizona Cardinals interviewed Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Mike McCoy a second time this week, and all indications were that he was heading to Arizona to accept the job. Earlier in this coaching search, Andy Reid was scheduled to interview with the Cardinals with many indicating that Reid was on his way to accepting the job as head coach.

Both men spurned the Cardinals and both have taken jobs elsewhere.

Reid didn’t even fly to Arizona, as he never left Kansas City after interviewing there. But McCoy did interview in Arizona, multiple times, which is why it’s so much of a shock that he’s told the Broncos he’s accepting a head coaching job with AFC West rival San Diego.

The Chargers are expected to introduce McCoy later this week after a deal is officially hashed out.

Throughout this coaching search, the Chargers had been surprisingly mum when it came to candidates, and when they did make noise it was mainly about Andy Reid and then Bruce Arians — never Mike McCoy. But late on Monday night/early Tuesday morning the Chargers made a serious and hard push to get McCoy to come to San Diego and it seems to have worked.

This hire sends shock waves through the rest of the NFL and has a direct effect on roughly three teams outside of San Diego. The Cardinals are obviously the most effected by this as they thought they had finally found a head coaching candidate. The Denver Broncos are effected because they lost their offensive coordinator and the Indianapolis Colts are positively effected, as they keep their in Bruce Arians. However, Arians is still a candidate in Chicago and Arizona is eyeing Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and former Cardinals offensive coordinator and current Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley as their top two targets.

There have also been discussion of promoting defensive coordinator Ray Horton to head coach.

Chargers fans are waking up happy this Tuesday though, because what McCoy brings to San Diego is more than just hope. Here’s a guy who created a wining offense with guys named Orton and Tebow leading the way, so now that he’s got Philip Rivers at his disposal, the assumption is that Mike McCoy will finally be able to turn the Chargers into the winners we’ve all been expecting them to be for the last 5 years.