Chargers Fire Special Teams Coach Derius Swinton II

First year special teams coach is now gone.

Brandon Staley has made the first coaching move after his first season as an NFL head coach. He decided to fire special teams coach Derius Swinton II after one season at the position.

It is an interesting move for numerous reasons. The top two are that he was only one year into the job and was still learning. Number two, the special teams improved mightily during the season.

Here is what Staley said during his exit interview on Wednesday:

“I think it’s a lot like on defense, it’s a work-in-progress,” Staley said. “I think that there was progress made. I think there’s a lot of work to do in terms of being a consistent team and being the type of team that we expect to be. I think, like you said, a lot of it is teaching and development, getting people in the right roles, establishing the depth that you need on teams in order to be successful. I think that it’s a work-in-progress. I think that we definitely made improvements in trying to create a culture there, but there is a lot of work to do.”

It started rough for the special teams, especially because they trotted out many rookies on kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return. The main players were Kemon Hall, Chris Rumph, Amen Ogbongbemiga, and Nick Niemann.

When it comes to punting, the Chargers had one of the worst net average at 36.5 and seventh-worst in the NFL at punt average at 44.2. They were also the worst team in the NFL when it comes to returning because they had a 5.9 average return.

The Chargers had rookie kicker Tristan Vizcaino as their guy, but he ended up missing five extra points, and it started to become a problem. They also had former seventh-round pick K.J. Hill returning kicks and punts, but lacked explosion.

The Chargers picked up a kicker Dustin Hopkins and kick return Andre Roberts during their bye week. It was an instant booster.

Hopkins went 18 for 20, which was a 90 percent plus was 30 for 32 on extra points for a 93.8 percentage.

Roberts had numerous explosive returns, especially a 101-yard touchdown return in week 17 against the Denver Broncos. He had a great return to start things off against Kansas City with a 75-yard return. Roberts was named a second team all pro for the A.P. for returners.

The special teams did improve, but it must not have been enough for Staley and the Chargers brass. It will be interesting to see if any other coaching moves are made and who will come in to replace Swinton.