Oct 28, 2008 - 7:53 PM
0 shoutsSAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- The San Diego Chargers fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell on Tuesday, two days after allowing 37 points in a loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Cottrell, who has served as San Diego's defensive coordinator for the last two seasons, has been replaced by Ron Rivera.
"Probably the things that we have needed to improve in are the same things that affected us in Week Two and so on," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "The same things have been an issue throughout the first eight games, at different times."
San Diego's linebackers coach prior to Tuesday, Rivera spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears from 2004-2006. The Bears forced an NFL-leading 44 turnovers in 2006 en route to an appearance in Super Bowl XLI.
"I think it's a great opportunity for myself personally and I think it's also an opportunity for us a team to do some things differently," Rivera said. "I think it's a good challenge."
Turner said the timing was right, especially with the Chargers upcoming bye week.
"Well the timing of it obviously is that when you have a bye, you have an opportunity to spend a little more time in situations and evaluate things that you need to evaluate," he said.
"Certainly if we were going to make a move this was the time to do it. We have a guy in place in Ron Rivera who has experience and I've got great confidence in him, so this was the right timing."
The Chargers have been one of the league's most disappointing teams, reaching the midpoint of the season at 3-5 after winning the AFC West title last year and reaching the conference championship game.
San Diego is 28th in overall defense, yielding just under 372 yards per game, and last against the pass.
In Sunday's 37-32 loss, the Chargers allowed New Orleans quarterback Drew Bress to complete 30-of-41 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns.
San Diego has been plagued by an inability to force turnovers and a virtually non-existent pass rush.
After forcing an NFL-high 49 takeaways last season, the Chargers have just one in their last three games. For the second consecutive game, the Chargers had no sacks against the Saints.
The Chargers have badly missed Pro Bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman, who posted an NFL-high 39 sacks over the past three seasons.
Merriman tried to play through a pair of ligament tears in his left knee, but made it through only one game before the Chargers put him on season-ending injured reserve.
San Diego has dropped three of its last four games.
