2002 San Diego Chargers season

2002 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
General manager	John Butler
Owner	Alex Spanos
Home field	Qualcomm Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 2002 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 5–11 record in 2001. It was Marty Schottenheimer's first season as the team's head coach. Their stadium, Qualcomm Stadium, hosted Super Bowl XXXVII at the end of the season, but the Chargers' failure to secure a playoff berth marked the 18th straight time that the Super Bowl did not include the team in whose region the game was being played. Their division was reduced to four teams at the start of the season with the Seattle Seahawks moving to the NFC. Despite starting the season at 4–0 and ending 6–2 halfway through, the Chargers only went 2–6 in their last 8 games.

Personnel

Staff

2002 San Diego Chargers staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Alex Spanos President/Chief Executive Officer – Dean Spanos Executive Vice President – Michael Spanos Executive Vice President/General Manager – John Butler Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel – A. J. Smith Vice President of Football Operations – Ed McGuire Director of Player Personnel – Buddy Nix Director of College Scouting – Jimmy Raye Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Associate Head Coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Cam Cameron Quarterbacks – Brian Schottenheimer Running Backs – Clarence Shelmon Wide Receivers – James Lofton Tight Ends – Tim Brewster Offensive Line – Hudson Houck Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Pete Carmichael, Jr.			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Dale Lindsey Defensive Line – Wayne Nunnely Linebackers – Greg Manusky Defensive Backs – Jerry Holmes Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – John Pagano Special Projects – Joe Pascale Special teams coaches Special Teams – Steve Crosby Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Matt Schiotz

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Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 8, 2002	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 34–6	53,705
2	September 15, 2002	Houston Texans	W 24–3	56,098
3	September 22, 2002	at Arizona Cardinals	W 23–15	28,980
4	September 29, 2002	New England Patriots	W 21–14	66,463
5	October 6, 2002	at Denver Broncos	L 26–9	75,065
6	October 13, 2002	Kansas City Chiefs	W 35–34	58,995
7	October 20, 2002	at Oakland Raiders	W 27–21	60,974
8	Bye
9	November 3, 2002	New York Jets	L 44–13	59,772
10	November 10, 2002	at St. Louis Rams	L 28–24	66,093
11	November 17, 2002	San Francisco 49ers	W 20–17	67,161
12	November 24, 2002	at Miami Dolphins	L 30–3	73,138
13	December 1, 2002	Denver Broncos	W 30–27	66,357
14	December 8, 2002	Oakland Raiders	L 27–7	67,968
15	December 15, 2002	at Buffalo Bills	L 20–13	61,838
16	December 22, 2002	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 24–22	77,899
17	December 29, 2002	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–28	52,159

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Chargers 10 10 7 7 34 Bengals 0 0 3 3 6 Date: September 8 Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 81°F, wind 5 Referee: Johnny Grier Television network: CBS

Scoring summary 1 SD Steve Christie 28 yard field goal Chargers 3–0 1 SD Josh Norman 1 yard pass from Drew Brees (Steve Christie kick) Chargers 10–0 2 SD Steve Christie 27 yard field goal Chargers 13–0 2 SD LaDainian Tomlinson 1 yard run (Steve Christie kick) Chargers 20–0 3 CIN Neil Rackers 21 yard field goal Chargers 20–3 3 SD Curtis Conway 9 yard pass from Drew Brees (Steve Christie kick) Chargers 27–3 4 SD Terrell Fletcher 1 yard run (Steve Christie kick) Chargers 34–3 4 CIN Neil Rackers 54 yard field goal Chargers 34–6

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Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(1) Oakland Raiders	11	5	0	.688	4–2	9–3	450	304	W2
Denver Broncos	9	7	0	.563	3–3	5–7	392	344	W1
San Diego Chargers	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	333	367	L4
Kansas City Chiefs	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	467	399	L1

References

1. 2012 San Diego Chargers Media Guide. pp. 263–264. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com