Caleb Thomas

Spanos, please sell the team. Nothing will change while this family owns the Chargers. Forty-two years of awful coaching hires, front-office decisions and wasted talent. Fouts. Brees. Rivers. Herbert. FOUR Hall of Fame-caliber QBs. Plus Tomlinson, Gates, Seau, Harrison and Weddle. ONE Super Bowl appearance. ZERO championships. Any competent franchise with that talent has multiple rings. The problem has never been talent. It’s ownership. Archie Manning was right. Look at the record: 1998: The front office rated Ryan Leaf ABOVE Peyton Manning and celebrated when Leaf “fell” to #2. An all-time draft disaster. 2003: Traded Junior Seau, the franchise’s heart, to Miami for a FIFTH-round pick. He played seven more years. He should have retired a Charger. 2003: Cut Rodney Harrison as “washed up.” He became an All-Pro and won TWO Super Bowls with New England. 2004: Eli Manning refused to play for the Chargers. He later described watching ownership, the GM and coach argue during his pre-draft visit. He saw the dysfunction immediately. 2005: Played Drew Brees in a meaningless Week 17 game vs. Denver. He wrecked his shoulder. Instead of tagging him as planned, they let a future Super Bowl champion leave. 2006: The 14-2 Chargers lost to New England after Marlon McCree intercepted Tom Brady, then fumbled it back. Another championship-caliber roster, another January collapse. 2007: FIRED Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season because he and A.J. Smith couldn’t coexist. Replaced him with NORV TURNER. Ownership couldn’t manage two adults with a championship roster. 2009-10: A 13-3 season ended against the Jets after Nate Kaeding missed THREE field goals. Then cut LT, who had already sacrificed financially to stay. He joined those same Jets. 2010: #1 offense and #1 defense by yardage. 32nd-ranked special teams. MISSED the playoffs. The only team ever to lead in both yards gained and allowed and miss the postseason. 2013-23: Telesco lasted ELEVEN seasons (84-92; TWO playoff wins) while Rivers’ later prime and Herbert’s early years went to waste. 2015: Fined Eric Weddle $10,000 for watching his daughter perform at halftime, then put the five-time All-Pro on what amounted to phantom IR. 2016: Pushed a stadium ballot measure requiring a TWO-THIRDS majority while excluding supportive county communities outside city limits. It failed; they blamed San Diego. 2017: ABANDONED SAN DIEGO for LA, expecting to retain SD fans AND win over a new market. They remain second fiddle to the Rams, surrounded by visiting fans. Their franchise valuation RANKING FELL relative to the rest of the NFL after the move. They traded a loyal hometown fan base for a market that never asked for them. Some business plan. 2023: Blew a 27-0 playoff lead to Jacksonville; KEPT Staley. Only a 63-21 humiliation by the RAIDERS finally got Staley and Telesco fired. 2024: NFLPA ranked their working conditions 30th of 32. Failing marks for food, locker rooms and treatment of families. Players complained about airport-tarmac waits and having to PAY for game-day childcare. This was a multibillion-dollar team, not a struggling minor-league club. 2024-25: Hired run-first Harbaugh and Greg Roman with an elite passer on a max contract. Herbert took a beating; two 11-win seasons produced two miserable playoff exits and ONE offensive TD total. In my view, they haven’t made a truly good coach or GM hire since Marty and A.J. Smith. They couldn’t even keep those two working together. Coaches and GMs get fired. Players get cut. But John Spanos and the family members overseeing football operations have NEVER faced accountability, no matter how many coaches and GMs they hire and fire. After Leaf, wasted Hall of Famers and January collapses, we still watched. They repaid our loyalty by leaving town. FOUR franchise QBs. Generations of elite talent. ZERO championships. The only constant is ownership. SELL THE TEAM. SELL IT NOW Move back to San Diego