Bradley told his wife and four children he would run out the last year of his head coaching contract with school events and family time in North Florida, giving his support back to his biggest fans.

”But that didn’t go over so well with them,” Bradley said, laughing heartily in his new Los Angeles Chargers shirt.

Bradley’s family didn’t think the famously enthusiastic coach could – or should – stay away from football.

So Bradley got back in the NFL a few days later, agreeing to become new head coach Anthony Lynn’s defensive coordinator with the relocating Chargers.

”There were just so many reasons that this was a good place to be,” said Bradley, who went 14-48 in Jacksonville despite building one of the NFL’s best defenses by the time he left. ”Everything kept pulling me here.”

Bradley and Lynn joined returning offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and special teams coordinator George Stewart on Wednesday to check out StubHub Center, the Chargers’ new stadium south of downtown Los Angeles.

During a break from work at Chargers Park, the coaches also saw the site of the team’s new training complex in Costa Mesa.

While they’re only at the start of an eventful year, Lynn and his new coaches believe they can announce their arrival in LA with a winning team backed by an uncommonly experienced coaching staff.

”To see everybody in the building, working together and interacting, it’s really good,” Lynn said. ”We’re a football family now.”

The Chargers have one of the baldest coaching staffs in recent memory – among the four, only Whisenhunt has even a pittance of hair – but also one of the most experienced. Lynn has two former head coaches as his top two coordinators, while Stewart is entering his 29th season in the league.

As a veteran NFL assistant in his first top job, Lynn eagerly hired two former head coaches as his coordinators. Whisenhunt got the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl during eight seasons as a head coach with two teams.

”When I’m not sure of something, when I need advice, I can go to either of them,” Lynn said. ”I have guys that I can lean on, and that’s exactly what I wanted.”

Lynn and Bradley met three years ago when Lynn applied to become Bradley’s offensive coordinator in Jacksonville.

While Lynn didn’t get the job, he left with a good feeling – and when their roles were reversed last month, Lynn persuaded Bradley to join him.

Bradley also has bonded quickly with Whisenhunt. The coaches matched wits twice a year for four seasons while Bradley coordinated the Seattle Seahawks’ dominant defense, and both are eager to test their new groups against each other in Chargers practice.

”You’re always trying to stay a step ahead, and what better place to get a step ahead than to go against Whis’ offense every day?” Bradley asked.

Whisenhunt said the Chargers essentially use the same systems and terminology installed in 2013 during his previous stint as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator before his two-year tenure as Tennessee’s head coach and his return to San Diego.

Philip Rivers has years of experience in the scheme, and Lynn sees little reason to make major changes.

Bradley will move the Chargers from a 3-4 defense under Chuck Pagano to a 4-3 set that will change the assignment of Joey Bosa, the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year.

Bradley believes the Chargers’ current personnel will fit the system splendidly, and that comfort was another factor in taking the Chargers job over other offers.

Along with Whisenhunt, four offensive assistants and three defensive assistants from Mike McCoy’s staff stayed with the Chargers, demonstrating the front office’s belief that coaching wasn’t entirely to blame for their 5-11 record.

San Diego had an extraordinary confluence of injuries for the third straight year, losing top receiver Keenan Allen, running back Danny Woodhead, Pro Bowl cornerback Jason Verrett and linebacker Manti Te’o early last season.

”You’d like to think we’re due for a year where we have a mostly healthy team for most of the year,” Whisenhunt said. ”If we can get that, it’s going to be good, because we’re not starting from scratch here. We’ve got something to build on.”

—

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McCoy had one thing to do, though, before accepting the Chargers’ offer, so it was a good thing Chargers president Dean Spanos’ private plane was at his disposal.

“There was no doubt in my mind when I got back on that plane to go back home,” said McCoy, the former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator who was introduced Tuesday as Chargers’ new coach. “They wanted to keep me here last night. But I said, ‘I’ve got to talk to my wife about this before.’ If I made the decision without talking to my wife, I might get in a little trouble.”

So McCoy flew back to Denver to talk it over with his wife, Kellie. McCoy, his wife and their two children were back on the same plane Tuesday morning, flying back to San Diego to take the job.

“Without a doubt, we knew this was the place we wanted to be,” said McCoy, who signed a four-year contract.

McCoy replaces Norv Turner, who was fired along with general manager A.J. Smith after the Chargers finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

The move comes three days after the top-seeded Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs in a double-overtime home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The 40-year-old McCoy is the same age as Tom Telesco, who was hired as general manager last week. He interviewed after the Chargers already had talked to Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, fired head coaches Lovie Smith and Ken Whisenhunt, and Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.

“Once he came in and once we saw how good he was, we just felt we had to have him now,” Telesco said of McCoy. “We had to get it done or we’d lose him.”

“He was polished, prepared, had great questions, which I think is big, too, that he had a lot of questions for us. It’s a partnership between the GM and the head coach, through and through. We spend more time with each other during the season than we do with our own family, so it’s got to be a tight relationship. When he came in, after a little bit of time, you could tell he was the right guy for us. We went after him hard.”

San Diego was scheduled to interview Indianapolis offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on Wednesday. Telesco, previously the Colts’ vice president of football operations, called Arians on Tuesday morning and told him the Chargers had hired McCoy.

“It was a tough phone call,” Telesco said. “I have so much respect for Bruce. He’s an excellent football coach. He’s going to be a great head coach in this league. I was honest with him. I said, ‘There’s different situations, different fits, and right now, this is a fit for Mike McCoy.’ He understood.”

McCoy inherits a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since after the 2008 season.

He thanked all the coaches and players he’s worked with over the years for helping him get to this point. He also said he knew just a few minutes into his interview that San Diego was the right place.

“They all laughed at me when I walked in yesterday with this big ol’ bag with all these books and binders and everything,” McCoy said. “Well, that’s my life’s work. We’ve got a detailed plan that Tom and I are going to put together. … There’s going to be some change. There’s a reason for change. And change is good sometimes in organizations. We’ve just got to make the most of the opportunity we have moving forward.”

The Broncos have won consecutive AFC West titles. McCoy tutored quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow in 2011, and had Peyton Manning behind center in 2012.

McCoy, who interviewed with the Miami Dolphins last year after retooling Denver’s offense to the read-option for Tebow at midstream in 2011, burnished his head coaching credentials this season while blending the power formations the Broncos used in leading the league in rushing last year with Tebow and some of the spread formations that Manning ran in Indianapolis.

“I think he’s going to be a great head coach. Very detail-oriented, knows the game, relates with players very well,” Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley said.

“Peyton does a lot but Mike is very good at what he does and he did a great job this year, so a lot of credit needs to go to him, also,” Stokley said. “I think that’s what you need to be a head coach — you need to be flexible. You need to do whatever you think is the best for your team to win and you know that’s what he’s done. You saw that last year. Not a lot of offensive coordinators in the NFL like running that kind of offense, but that’s what he did and it was successful.”

McCoy said he was “a bit stubborn” after Tebow was made the starter in 2011, but then realized he needed to change the offense.

“You take advantage of what your players do best,” McCoy said.

With the Chargers, McCoy will work with Philip Rivers, who struggled this season in large part because he was under siege behind a shaky offensive line. Rivers was sacked 49 times and committed 22 turnovers, giving him 47 turnovers in two seasons.

“You go through the disappointment from the season and losing your coach to now having a new GM, new coach, and you get excited and ready to go for this 2013 season,” Rivers said.

“Once I found out that we were bringing him in on Monday, I was hoping he wasn’t going to leave again. I’m excited that was the case and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Denver swept the Chargers in 2012, including an epic 35-24 victory at San Diego on Oct. 15 when Manning calmly led the Broncos back from a 24-0 halftime deficit.

McCoy was a walk-on quarterback at Long Beach State under coach George Allen. After the 49ers dropped football, he transferred to Utah. He signed with the Broncos as a free agent and spent his rookie season on Green Bay’s practice squad. He had stops in NFL Europe and with San Francisco, Philadelphia and in the CFL. He began his pro coaching career with Carolina before moving to the Broncos in 2009.

McCoy said he learned about detail and preparation from Allen, who coached the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins.

“He was not a big yeller and screamer, he just expected you to go out there and do your job and execute the system the way it was supposed to be executed,” McCoy said.

McCoy said he planned to hire an offensive coordinator to call plays. Turner called his own plays. McCoy was non-committal about defensive coordinator John Pagano, saying he planned to evaluate the entire staff.

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Bradley is helping the Seahawks prep for their playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He’s been the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator since 2009, and the team’s defense allowed a league-low 15.3 points per game this season.

If Bradley is their guy, the Eagles can’t officially hire him until the Seahawks are eliminated from the playoffs.

The 46-year-old Bradley has emerged as a favorite among fans in Philadelphia based mainly on an old video clip in which he goes off on the Seahawks’ defense during a game.

“Well, it’s flattering. And I know people talk about our entire focus is on Atlanta and it really is,” Bradley said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s so important to us. We worked so hard to get to this point and our whole message to the team is to keep raising the bar and getting better and better every week. They’re talking that and we’re talking that, so it’s easy to stay focused on it. It’s flattering as you’ve all heard before. But our entire focus is on Atlanta and trying to get one step closer.”

Bradley began his NFL coaching career with Tampa Bay as a defensive quality control coach in 2006. He was the Buccaneers’ linebackers coach the next two seasons before going to Seattle. Bradley coached in college from 1990-2005, including two stints at North Dakota State and four years at Fort Lewis College.

“He’s got a brilliant football mind,” Seahawks coach Peter Carroll said this week. “He’s got a way of reaching people and touching people and getting the best out of them, coaches and players alike. He’s got everything that you’re looking for.”

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and president Don Smolenski already have interviewed seven candidates since firing Andy Reid on Dec. 31, one day after the team completed a 4-12 season.

One of those interviewed, Brian Kelly, announced Saturday that he was staying at Notre Dame.

The Eagles also will interview Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden on Monday and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on Tuesday.

This is the third time owner Lurie is hiring a new coach since he bought the team from Norman Braman in 1994. He hired Ray Rhodes on Feb. 2, 1995, after a long, exhaustive search that included a flirtation with former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. Lurie needed less time to hire Reid, giving him the job on Jan. 11, 1999.

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Bradley is helping the Seahawks prep for their playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He’s been the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator since 2009, and the team’s defense allowed a league-low 15.3 points per game this season.

If Bradley is their guy, the Eagles can’t officially hire him until the Seahawks are eliminated from the playoffs.

The 46-year-old Bradley has emerged as a favorite among fans in Philadelphia based mainly on an old video clip in which he goes off on the Seahawks’ defense during a game.

“Well, it’s flattering. And I know people talk about our entire focus is on Atlanta and it really is,” Bradley said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s so important to us. We worked so hard to get to this point and our whole message to the team is to keep raising the bar and getting better and better every week. They’re talking that and we’re talking that, so it’s easy to stay focused on it. It’s flattering as you’ve all heard before. But our entire focus is on Atlanta and trying to get one step closer.”

Bradley began his NFL coaching career with Tampa Bay as a defensive quality control coach in 2006. He was the Buccaneers’ linebackers coach the next two seasons before going to Seattle. Bradley coached in college from 1990-2005, including two stints at North Dakota State and four years at Fort Lewis College.

“He’s got a brilliant football mind,” Seahawks coach Peter Carroll said this week. “He’s got a way of reaching people and touching people and getting the best out of them, coaches and players alike. He’s got everything that you’re looking for.”

Owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and president Don Smolenski already have interviewed seven candidates since firing Andy Reid on Dec. 31, one day after the team completed a 4-12 season.

The Eagles also will interview Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden on Monday and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on Tuesday.

This is the third time owner Lurie is hiring a new coach since he bought the team from Norman Braman in 1994. He hired Ray Rhodes on Feb. 2, 1995, after a long, exhaustive search that included a flirtation with former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. Lurie needed less time to hire Reid, giving him the job on Jan. 11, 1999.

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Arians led the Colts to a 9-3 record as interim head coach in place of Chuck Pagano, who was receiving treatment for leukemia. He has groomed Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck early in their careers.

NFL.com reported on Thursday that the Chicago Bears were the first team to request permission to interview Arians, who’s helping the Colts prepare for their playoff game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Bradley is helping the Seahawks prep for their playoff game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. He’s been the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator since 2009, and the team’s defense allowed a league-low 15.3 points per game this season.

The Eagles are seeking a replacement for longtime coach Andy Reid, who was fired Monday.

They already have interviewed Penn State’s Bill O’Brien and Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong. O’Brien is remaining at Penn State.

Team officials will meet with Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy Sunday in Denver, and are also expected to talk with Oregon coach Chip Kelly.

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