After finishing dead last in the AFC West two years in a row, the Chargers are parting ways with head coach Mike McCoy.
The team confirmed the move on Sunday following San Diego's 37-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Mike McCoy is a man of high character, and we thank him for his dedication to the Chargers," president of football operations John Spanos said in a statement. "The decision to dismiss Mike was made in the best interests of our franchise. Our team's disappointing performance has not matched this team's potential and has fallen short of the demanding standards that we seek to impose throughout our organization. Our comprehensive search for a new head coach begins immediately."
McCoy finishes with a 27-37 regular-season record and a 1-1 record in the postseason. Those two playoff games came way back in 2013, though, with the Bolts winning just nine games over their past two campaigns.
Said general manager Tom Telesco, who helped lead the search for McCoy in 2013: "I want to thank Mike for his tireless work and commitment to this organization. He instilled a culture of work ethic and togetherness that we can build on for years to come."
With San Diego mulling a potential move to Los Angeles, the franchise has extra incentive to start fresh with a coach unlinked to the team's recent string of failure.
Unlike plenty of new coaches, McCoy can't cite the quarterback position for his dismissal. He worked well with a likely future Hall of Fame passer in Philip Rivers, but the Chargers know the veteran signal-caller's window is closing.
Only so many seasons remain with Rivers at the wheel, and the Bolts -- a team set to change not just their coach, but maybe their city in 2017 -- aren't waiting around to see if McCoy can fix this operation in time for next season.
