Speculation on Telesco’s future can’t ignore past
An NFL writer with The Athletic speculated last week that Tom Telesco, longtime Chargers general manager, could be in trouble if the team misses the playoffs.
My guess is Telesco will keep his job if the team misses the playoffs. He’s done so seven other times.
Telesco has worked with John Spanos for a decade. That implies comfort and fit.
It was important they get along well when Telesco was hired because John was rising within the team’s football front office to the top spot. Described as a “giant leap forward” in his Chargers biography, John assumed more clout in 2013 than he had as a scout and scouting director under Telesco’s predecessor, A.J. Smith, and two years later became president of football operations.
Spanos and Telesco were similar in age. Smith was much older. Where Smith surveyed Chargers practices from a balcony perch — some employees referred to him as The Hawk — Telesco’s style was more collegial. According to former Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, who’d worked with him, Telesco was great at building and maintaining relationships. At Chargers Park and later in Orange County, Telesco and John Spanos watched the practices together, often conferring afterward.
Team owner Dean Spanos, who’d fired Smith, had aligned his son with a Bill Polian protege to run the football side of the family-owned club. Final say on player personnel has belonged to Telesco, a Chargers source said a few years ago. But in a sign that his star indeed had risen, John Spanos said in January 2017 he would have a big say on the next coach hire (Anthony Lynn). Presumably, Spanos maintained that big say four years later when Brandon Staley was hired to replace Lynn.
The results in nine-plus years
under Telesco and Spanos? A 75-82 (.478) record and two playoff appearances, both of which ended in the divisional round. Staley’s second team is targeting the Jets (7-5), whom the Chargers (6-6) and others are challenging for the AFC’s final playoff berth. This week the Jets are a 9.5-point underdog at Buffalo.
49ers and Rivers?
Will Philip Rivers pull an Eric Weddle, leaving retirement to help a star-laden team win a Super Bowl?
The San Francisco 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending foot injury. The rest of the roster looks Super Bowl-capable.
Rivers turns 40 this week and never reached a Super Bowl but may be the best free agent if he still wants to play and has maintained fitness.
Two years ago in his most recent NFL season, he was a mid-level NFL starter who directed a near-upset of Buffalo in a playoff game, Jan. 9, 2021.
With Rivers starting every game, those 2020 Colts went 11-5 and Rivers placed ninth in yards per pass attempt (7.7), 13th in passer rating (97.0), 16th in interception percentage (2.0) and 20th in touchdown percentage (4.4).
The Colts lost their playoff game, 27-24, as a seven-point underdog, largely because Bills QB Josh Allen made several spectacular plays. Rivers was 27 for 49 for 309 yards and two TDs without an interception. He caught a break from weather that was ideal for a Buffalo winter. Offsetting diminished arm strength, he got the ball out fast and was mostly accurate on short and intermediate throws.
Weeks later, after conferring with the Colts, who had their eyes on Carson Wentz — who lasted just one season — Rivers announced his retirement and began his next career as a high school football coach in Alabama.
Cylone alert
Rookie Brock Purdy replaced Garoppolo and appeared comfortable against the blitz-happy Dolphins. The Iowa State alum was 25 for 37 for 205 yards, two TDs and an interception in San Francisco’s 33-17 victory.
The West-leading 49ers (8-4) can likely reach the playoffs with Purdy, who can lean on a ground game that’s 10th in rush attempts and 19th in yards per carry.
Referring to a San Francisco defense that ranks first in points, linebacker Fred Warner (Mission Hills High) said Purdy — the final selection of this year’s draft — has “played against the best defense in the league for the past 13 weeks. He’ll be fine.”
Shanahan and GM John Lynch Jr. (Torrey Pines High) will try to project Purdy’s chances in the playoffs. Can they win with him at Philadelphia (11-1) or at Dallas (9-3)? Gulp.
Three things
• QB Joe Burrow’s quick bursts and cuts stood out in Cincinnati’s 27-24 victory over the Chiefs. Burrow was slowed by a knee sprain last season when he also was coming off reconstructive knee surgery. His 11 rushes Sunday set a personal record. The 46 yards came within a yard of his best mark. Burrow’s improved rushing is one of several reasons the Bengals are more capable offensively than last year.
• Rams QB Matthew Stafford’s spinal cord contusion is career-threatening, says former Chargers team physician Dr. David Chao.
• Kevin O’Connell (SDSU) looks like he enjoys a close shave every day. Perhaps it’s translating on the field, where the firstyear coach has seen the Vikings (10-2) go 9-0 in games decided by eight points or fewer. O’Connell looked relaxed Sunday while watching his team repel two Jets drives in the final minutes, securing a 27-22 victory.