A former aide to Bill Belichick who’s coached in two Super Bowls, winning one, reportedly is the Chargers' new special teams coach. Kevin Spencer is in his third decade as an NFL assistant coach. He’s reuniting with former Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Chargers’ offensive coordinator, ESPN reported. Spencer, 59, directed special teams for two Super Bowl teams: the 2005 Steelers, who beat the Seahawks; and the 2008 Cardinals, who lost to the Steelers. Whisenhunt and Spencer were assistants in Pittsburgh before Whisenhunt, as Arizona’s head coach, hired Spencer to direct the Cardinals' special teams. Spencer in 1991 joined his first NFL staff as an assistant to Belichick, then coaching the Browns. He was a defensive coach for Joe Bugel’s Raiders and ran special teams for Jim Mora’s Colts before joining Bill Cowher's Steelers in 2002. His peers named him the NFL's special teams coach of the year in 2003. Spencer isn't joining the Chargers because of special teams blunders, as did his predecessor Rich Bisaccia. Breakdowns in punt protection and kick coverage in 2010, when the Chargers missed the playoffs despite leading the league in total offense and total defense, led Norv Turner to fire longtime special teams coach Steve Crosby and hire Bisaccia, whose Bucs special teams were part of Tampa’s Super Bowl victory in San Diego 10 years ago. Bisaccia left the Chargers earlier this month to become Auburn's assistant coach. Under Bisaccia, the Chargers ranked 23rd in special teams in 2011 and sixth last year, according to the statistical analysis of footballoutsiders.com. Spencer’s Cardinals units, meantime, finished 11th in ’11 and 12th last year. The Chargers’ leaky punt protection last year, which led to three blocks – none the fault of punter Mike Scifres – is sure to draw Spencer's attention. Arizona’s return game received a boost two years ago from Patrick Peterson, a rookie who tied an NFL record by taking four punts for touchdowns. Assuming Frank Reich becomes their quarterbacks coach, the Chargers will employ three coaches from last year's Cardinals staff. Arizona started out the season 4-0, then lost 11 of its final 12 games to finish last in the NFC West. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/19/kevin-spencer-kevin-whisenhunt-cardinals-chargers/
Another solid hire. Now lets get a great RB and WR coach in here, and especially a solid O-Line coach.
This guy has a good pedigree. As for last year's special teams, I refuse to call any special teams group that allows three blocked punts "successful."
