Some NFL teams are known for consistently building league-leading defenses to set their teams up for success, the LA Chargers are not one of those teams.
There haven’t been many great defenses throughout the Chargers’ history. The team has only finished in the top three in points allowed six times in the franchise’s 60-plus year history. Three of those times came during the AFL era, when the Chargers never had a defensive coordinator.
So making a list of the best defensive coordinators in Chargers history is much harder than making a list of the best offensive coordinators, and unfortunately, each of these coaches is deserving of praise.
5. Ron Rivera
The reason Ron Rivera makes the list as the fifth-best defensive coordinator in franchise history is simply because there aren’t many good defensive coordinators. I’m not saying Rivera did a bad job — certainly not — but he only spent two years as the team’s defensive coordinator after being a longtime defensive assistant.
The Chargers certainly had success defensively in those two seasons, but they were nowhere near the ’85 Bears. In 2009, the Chargers were just 16th in yards allowed and 11th in points allowed, about the league average. Those numbers improved in 2010, when Rivera’s defense finished first in yards allowed and 10th in points allowed.
Rivera’s 2010 defense was one of only four defenses in franchise history to finish with the fewest yards allowed and is the only Chargers defense in the last 50 years to finish first in yards allowed and in the top 10 in points allowed.
4. Bill Arnsperger
Bill Arnsperger served as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator for just three seasons. After becoming the only defensive coordinator in franchise history to play in a Super Bowl, Arnsperger stepped down as coach due to prostate cancer surgery the previous year. Arnsperger lived to be a part of the Chargers for 21 more years, passing away in 2015.
In 1991, the Chargers were hardly a threat defensively, ranking 21st in the league in points allowed per game (out of 28 teams at the time), but things changed under Arnsparger, who led the Chargers to the fourth-best defense in the league in his first season in charge.
The Chargers ranked 12th in 1993 and 9th in 1994. Arnsperger’s defense may not have been a historically elite one, but it was more than enough to contribute to the team’s playoff success in the mid-1990s.
3. Wade Phillips
The Chargers may have been known for their prolific offense during Wade Phillips’ tenure from 2004-2006, but without a strong defense, the Bolts wouldn’t have had as much success.
The year before Phillips was hired, the Chargers were 31st in the league, allowing just 27.6 points per game. San Diego had ranked in the bottom third of the league in three of the four seasons since the turn of the century before Phillips was hired.
With Phillips at the helm, the Chargers improved to the 11th best defense in the league, allowing just 19.6 points per game. In Phillips’ three years with the Chargers, the defense was never below average and never allowed more than 20 points per game.
2. Gus Bradley
His inclusion on this list may seem illogical given how his tenure with the Chargers ended: Gus Bradley was not very popular in Los Angeles after leaving the team in 2020. The Chargers were poor defensively in 2020, and Bradley’s inability to adapt and change was a major factor.
But looking back, Bradley was far better than the man who replaced him in charge of defense, Brandon Staley, and in fact, he has one of the most impressive defensive coordinator resumes in franchise history.
Bradley ranks in the top five in games coached as a DC and has had two of the most impressive defenses in franchise history. The 2017 Chargers are the only team to finish in the top three in points allowed in a season since 1980. In 2018, the Chargers ranked eighth in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed.
Even though Bradley’s tenure ended badly, he’s the reason Chargers fans fell in love with the “Jackboys” defense, so he deserves a bouquet.
1. Jackie Simpson
Jackie Simpson is the best defensive coordinator in Chargers history, despite some poor defensive seasons under Simpson’s direction. The Chargers allowed less than league average points in four of the seven years Simpson was the defensive coordinator.
But there are some big, successful years that have propelled them to the top of this list. The 1979 Chargers boasted the best defense in franchise history, allowing the second-fewest points and fifth-fewest yards in the league. In ’79, the team averaged just 15.4 points per game against the Bolts.
1977 was also a successful year for Simpson’s defense, with the Bolts ranking sixth in the league in points allowed and yards allowed (and finishing the season with the fewest points allowed in franchise history, albeit by 14 games). In 1980, Simpson’s final year with the Bolts, the Chargers were 18th in points allowed but sixth in yards allowed.
Simpson coached a record 104 games as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator.
Rank
coach
Years with the Chargers
Games taught
1.
Jackie Simpson
1974-1980
104
2.
Ron Lin
1986-1991
95
3.
John Pagano
2012-2016
80
Four.
Joe Pascal
1997-2001
69
Five.
Gus Bradley
2017-2020
64
