COSTA MESA — It’s a three-week season, Giff Smith said after conducting his first practice as the Chargers’ interim coach Tuesday. He also said the final three games of the 2023 season should not be viewed as meaningless because there’s plenty at stake for the coaches and players alike.
So, he asked the team captains, including running back Austin Ekeler and safety Derwin James Jr., to lift the energy at practice if they believed it was falling. Smith asked them to raise the spirits of their teammates if it seemed like they were bottoming out on the field, in the locker room or in meetings.
It seemed like a tall order given all that’s happened since the season began Sept. 10, but particularly since Chargers coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired Friday, only hours after a 63-21 loss to the AFC West rival Raiders on Thursday night in Las Vegas.
“It’s a team game and it’s a player-driven league and the teams that have been successful that I’ve been a part of, you have great leaders,” said Smith, who was elevated from outside linebackers coach. “In times of adversity, those are the guys who’ve got to lead. Even if it’s out of your nature to step up and be aggressive, this is what this team needs for these three weeks. We’ve got a three-week season and we’re going to play to win.”
Smith and the Chargers do not have an easy route to the season’s finish line. They face the Buffalo Bills, the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, three teams either fighting for AFC playoff spots or to improve their postseason seeding. None of the three will hold a pity party for the Chargers, in other words.
As embarrassing as the loss to the Raiders might have been, and it was impossible to find anyone in the Chargers’ headquarters the past few days who would argue the point, Smith said it was time to move on. He was thrilled to be elevated to the head coaching position, but it wasn’t a time for personal…
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