AJ Smith or John Spanos in 2012

[AntonioGates]

I saw that there was a bit of coaching and GM discussion in the Bears game day thread.

Norv Turner needs a big turn around (at least make the 2nd round of the playoffs in my opinion) to be here. After the last 5 games this is a pretty unlikely. So there will be a new coach for the Chargers next year. The real question is, who will be the man who assists Dean Spanos in finding the next coach as GM.

AJ Smith, on one hand has had successes and failures as the GM. From 2004-2006, he drafted as well as anyone: multiple Pro Bowlers, starters, and great depth guys. He also had amazing undrafted free agent classes, and while he missed on his free agent signings, generally he was one of the best GMs in the league. However, since Norv became coach, he has 3 bad drafts from 2007-2009 and 2 drafts that have looked promising, but have yet to make a big impact. There is talk Norv has been the influence of some of the picks (like Buster Davis and Ryan Mathews) and Norv has not done a good job developing the talent. Also injuries have really hurt this team the past 2 seasons, at a rate that is far higher than other teams around the league. That may be a case to keep AJ, but questionable trades and draft picks are ultimately his responsibility.

If AJ is fired, or as LBC suggested, is asked to step down ('retire') then the next in line is Dean's son, John Spanos. John has been working as a scout under AJ Smith, and is the guy next in line for the job. However, he was not supposed to be the GM this early, and wait until after the 2014 season to take over. Putting him at GM may not be the best option at this point.

So, what do other posters think? I personally believe AJ deserves another chance to pick a head coach and reload this team for the next few seasons. This is not a bad roster, it has some good players, but it does need a lot of work. Cason, Laboy, and Clary should not be starters in the NFL, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for roster issues.

[The LBC]

I think AJ is the lesser of two evils in this scenario, but really I'd prefer neither given my druthers.

I don't think AJ is invested in us for the long-run. There just doesn't seem to be a passion in him for this job. That said, I think the vast majority of our scouting department are utterly clueless and this very much includes John Spanos, and would also likely ensure that our current group of scouts are maintained - which I don't think is a particularly good thing.

Granted, it's difficult of late to totally level blame on them because we've had a coaching staff that past about two or so positional coaches really don't know how to properly develop players technically. At least with AJ we know we've got a guy at the reins who has been able to identify the raw lumps of clay that are "mold-able" into high-end players - can't say the same about John.

My concern is that I'm not sure either is a guy that many worthwhile coaches are going to be all too eager to work with/for. We all know AJ and his personality are not very popular around the league. And coaches typically are not big fans of working for the owner's family as their GM-partner because it's perfectly obvious which side ownership's going to take in the event of any butting of heads or conflict. If John is willing to relinquish a fair amount of personnel control to whoever the new HC is, while he sticks to heading up scouting, he might gain some brownie points with coaching candidates, but that's really about it.
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[The-Beast]

Personally, I want fresh eyes. More specifically, someone willing to see the faults. If that means an entire front office clearing, then so be it.

Anyways I already know the best candidate, me. I have so many 19-0 seasons on Madden.
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[MrDrew]

[The LBC]

[JammerHammer21]

AJ's just waiting for two more years before he's off to Hawaii. Spanos wouldn't do anything different than AJ. We would need new owners to get a new idea for GM
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[The LBC]

[bigdogsandiego]

Spanos family has proved over time that they are not "hands on" and prefer the GM to run the show with some minor supervision. AJ Smith is an old school guy that no longer understands the younger players and should have been relieved 3 years ago and not resigned. He has alienated most of the players with his poor management style of letting go all pros, screwing with contracts of McNeil/Jackson/etc..., and not communicating. With his contract however, my choice is to keep AJ for another year at most until you find a real GM but Turner needs to be delegated to OC or let go and get a new dynamic hard charger coach at the end of the season. John Spanos is being trained by people that let a solid franchise with all pro players deteriorate to a bunch of wannabes. He is obviously not ready. There maybe 2 or 3 players on the entire team that other teams would be interested in so the idea of rebuilding certainly has to be addressed. Chargers will be lucky to reach .500 even though Turner has shown he can win in Dec. Worse than the .500 record is the fact Charger roster is weak and lacks a core of young improving talent.

[JammerHammer21]

[AntonioGates]

[The LBC]

[Boltstrikes]

I really have no hope for this team right now. Fire AJ and have a Spanos take over? That's worked out so well for the Bengals, Redskins, Cowboys, Raiders right?

Honestly the only realistic scenario I won't want to hari kari myself is a full cleaning. Spanos boy takes over the title of GM and we bring in a Jeff Fisher who will be the ultimate ruler of the house of cards.
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[The LBC]

[SanDiegoScrubs]

Want AJ and Norv gone, although might be okay with him staying if a Spanos is the only other option as GM. The guy in my sig should be the next coach though.
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[Persian Bolt]

John Gruden, he can be back in the AFC West again. But I can't see him getting along with AJ.
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