Honestly, how many of us knew anything about Tom Telesco before today? Not even the San Diego media knew squat about the 40-year-old Buffalo, NY native before the press conference this afternoon. In fact, Telesco didn't even appear to be under serious consideration for the job until word got out that the Chargers were flying Telesco to San Diego for a second interview this morning. In the world of sports, a second interview essentially means "sign on the dotted line". At first, I was just excited that Spanos went against what everyone thought he would do and hired an external candidate, but the more and more I learned about Telesco, the more excited I was for the man himself. If you had the time to watch the live press conference, you couldn't help but feel inspired. Keep in mind, this is a guy that not only was brand new to the city of San Diego, but was also standing in front of a room full of reporters, flash bulbs, and live cameras for the first time in his career...all within a few hours of being hired for a job that he has worked his entire life to secure...being a general manager for an NFL team. You could hardly tell that this was Telesco's first time in front of the San Diego press, as he very carefully divulged his plan to rebuilt the Chargers and bring them back to prominence. Build through the draft, retain productive players, sign free agents if the dollars equal the production, but most importantly...building an atmosphere centered around trust and communication within the organization. Telesco also spoke of everything that he learned through his experiences with Buffalo, Carolina, and Indianapolis. The man has witnessed how to raise a struggling program from the ashes to being a fixture in the NFL postseason. Ladies and gentlemen, we got what we wanted. Tom Telesco is the anti-A.J., and that right there is huge for the future of the Chargers in San Diego.
Throughout the day, Telesco was the only topic on the San Diego airwaves. Multiple media outlets rained praise upon the Chargers for hiring this young gun away from Indianapolis.
San Diego made a superb hire in Tom Telesco.
— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) January 9, 2013
San Diego made a great choice in hiring Tom Telesco as their new GM. Not a household name but he was a BIG part of our success in Indy!
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 9, 2013
Polian, Dungy, Grigson rave about Telesco es.pn/SkWujh
— Paul Kuharsky (@espn_afcsouth) January 9, 2013
It sounds like the Chargers and Telesco already have their next head coach in mind, saying that it may be days or weeks before they announce their next head coach. That should lead most people to believe that the preferred target is still coaching in the playoffs, and the name swirling the most in rumor mills is the man primarily responsible for leading the Colts to their current postseason run, offensive coordinator and former interim head coach, Bruce Arians. Telesco focused a lot on the closeness and family atmosphere of the Colts organization, and it would be no surprise if his relationship with Arians carried over to San Diego. A lot of people seem a little too fixated on Arians' age or his lack of actual NFL head coaching experience, which is understandable considering the fans' desire to bring in an anti-Norv. To those people, all I ask is that you remember who led the Chargers to their only Super Bowl appearance. Bobby Ross got his first NFL head coaching job with the Chargers at age 55 and immediately took a team that finished 4-12 and in last place to 11-5 and an AFC West championship. Two seasons later, the AFC championship trophy found a home in San Diego. The Chargers don't need a big name guy like a Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, or Jon Gruden...nor do they need a guy with experience like Jim Mora or Lovie Smith. They just need a head coach that knows how to win. It appears that they now have a general manager that does.
No comments:
Post a Comment