The San Diego Chargers have a new head coach.
Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy landed in San Diego Tuesday afternoon and appeared at a news conference at Chargers Park to make his official appearance as the team's new Head Coach.
McCoy was considered by some -- including NBC 7 San Diego’s Sports Director Jim Laslavic -- to be the front runner in the job search.
Almost as soon as he landed, McCoy signed a contract with the Spanos family and the team's just-hired Chargers GM Tom Telesco.
“The [Chargers] were looking for someone to fix Philip Rivers and it seems like they think Mike McCoy is the guy to do that," said NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport.
At 40, McCoy is the same age as Telesco and is the youngest of the Chargers coaching candidates. In a statement, Spanos said McCoy has a "structured vision about how to build and run a football team."
Spanos characterized McCoy as an innovative team builder -- a quality that will likely complement Telesco's own ambitions to focus on the draft in the coming years.
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"He’s going to build a team culture and do it with passion on and off the field," Telesco said in a statement. "It was very clear he was the one we wanted to lead the San Diego Chargers in a new era."
While with the Broncos for four seasons, McCoy got the most out of quarterback Kyle Orton, then Tim Tebow, and worked well this season with Peyton Manning.
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He was quoted on the Chargers website as saying he loved Qualcomm Stadium and the basic values of the organization.
"The great thing is it’s a family run business. I’m big into family," McCoy told the team's website. "There’s an open door policy for everyone to feel welcome and open to come enjoy the environment that we’re all in this together.”
When Telesco was hired Jan. 9, Spanos showered the former Colts VP of Operations with praise saying, "He knows how to build a winning football team."
Bruce Arians was scheduled to meet with the Chargers on Wednesday.
Former head coach Norv Turner and ex-GM A.J. Smith were fired after the team ended the season with a 7-9 record.
Spanos said one of the reasons for hiring McCoy is his structured vision on how to build the team.
“Bottom line: He’s a true leader,” said Spanos during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
McCoy said he is going to analyze the current Chargers roster and looks forward to adding to it during the draft.
“There are some great players here, and we’re going to build off these great players,” he said. “We’re going to build this organization to be a champion on the football field and in the community.”
He described his coaching style as laid back, saying he’s not a “big yeller or screamer.” But when it comes to shouting later in the season, he joked anything could happen.
“As coaches we all snap sooner or later,” he chuckled.
McCoy said he is going to have a detailed plan when it comes to this season and wants to go into every game believing the Chargers can win.
“We’re going to lead this team to a championship sometime in the future,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
