San Diego Flubbers

The San Diego Chargers are now the San Diego Flubbers after recording the equivalent of the triple-play (for the team at bat - that is) in what can only be dubbed Adventures in Mismanagement.

Consider this trifecta:
1. After a marvelous 14-2 season but a disappointing, mistake-filled home playoff loss to the Patriots, the Flubbers "commitment" to Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer consists of a paltry 1-year extension thru 2008 (basically its a severance package offer, because in reality MS would still have been a lame duck in 2007). Like a man, Marty declines the masked slap and commits only to working out the remaining year of the contract.

Sensing the ship listing, and with multiple head coaching slots popping up around the league, Flubbers coaches begin to flee and wind up securing promotions around the league (after all the Flubbers were an NFL-best team when they were the Chargers). 5 in all, but most importantly, both coordinators (Cam Cameron to Miami and Wade Phillips to Dallas).

2. A few weeks later the Flubbers front office reverses course, shit-canning Marty and describing the situation between the coach and GM: "dysfunctional." Never mind that the NFL coaching carousel had been spinning for weeks, with many of the top candidates either a) never getting on, or b) jumping off to land jobs.

The real flub-up here....the Owner cites the defection of the coaches as the reason behind his decision to fire Marty...hey, asshole...YOU ARE THE ONE that controls that. Don't want them to leave? Are they under contract? Then don't give them permission to, or offer them the money required to stay.

3. So instead of doing it the right way, and perhaps having a chance at stability by being able to promote from within (say keeping the offense on-kilter with Cameron, or D with Phillips), the Flubbers delay costs them. This get compounded by today's decision to go with triple-time re-tread Norv Turner. Don't get me wrong, a rhesus monkey probably could "coach" the Flubbers to a 10-win season (not that hard to come up with a get LT 25 touches/game strategy); but seriously...does anyone think Turner is that final piece to motivate the team over the top (and I use motivate, because at this point, the Flubbers have the talent, what they need is a Gruden-like motivator to push them).