The Chargers are moving into a new stadium in 2020, but they won't need a new offensive coordinator to help pack up the trucks.
Shane Steichen is expected to return as the team's play-caller next season, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported, per sources informed of the team's thinking.
Steichen's contract expires soon and a new deal will need to be worked out, but the plan is for him to remain as the team's offensive coordinator at the start of the new decade.
The Chargers disappointed plenty in 2019, finishing a perplexing 5-11 despite possessing more talent than their record showed. Ken Whisenhunt was only able to make it eight weeks before he was fired in a move head coach Anthony Lynn deemed necessary for his struggling team. Steichen replaced Whisenhunt for the team's final eight games, slightly improving Los Angeles' offense from 350.63 yards per game under Whisenhunt to 384.25 yards per game without him.
Chargers fans will likely look back on 2019 as a wash, as long as the team rebounds in 2020 as new tenants at the sparkling SoFi Stadium. We'll see how Steichen uses an offseason to improve this team's offense -- and who might be quarterbacking it in the new decade.
