The Los Angeles Chargers are making moves to fill vacancies within their coaching staff. The team’s previous defensive coordinator, Renaldo Hill, will make the move to Miami and fill a similar role with the Dolphins. In his absence, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero has reported that Derrick Ansley will be promoted to defensive coordinator. Additionally, Tommy Donatell will make the move to the team’s secondary coach and pass game coordinator.
Both Ansley and Donatell were popular coaching candidates on the market this off-season. Ansley was an all-state high school football star in Florida during the late 1990s. After graduating from Tallassee High School, he played college football at Troy University. During his time at Troy University, he started 40 consecutive games while grabbing 19 interceptions. Following his collegiate football career, he became a graduate assistant coach at the University of Alabama. Over time, he would bounce around to the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee in various defensive coaching roles. In 2021, he moved up to the NFL as a defensive back coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Donatell also started out as a graduate assistant coach in the south. The Georgia native started off at the University of South Florida before moving out to UCLA. In 2017, he made the jump to the NFC West as a quality control and defensive coach with the Seattle Seahawks. After spending four seasons with Pete Carroll, he joined the Los Angeles Chargers as an assistant secondary coach.
