Ryan Ficken On Special Teams & Harbaugh | LA Chargers

Intro a couple years ago when you were first hired by the Chargers we're sitting here and making a joke to you about how stoked you must be coming to Southern California from Minnesota I know it's raining outside today so that's why we're doing this inside but how happy are you that this is home now that you're staying on the staff oh definitely excited and thrilled but definitely blessed you know for the opportunity to be here you know obviously very fortunate for the Spanos family to uh bring us back and Believe in Us and support us and then obviously with Coach har brov and you know Ed and keeping us here we're definitely excited but yeah remember we're just right outside here uh you know beautiful sunny day and now we're indoors uhhuh yeah yeah we'll take it yeah all right Working with Jim Harbaugh working with Jim Harbaugh so far how has that been going oh it's been great I mean just you know learning from him and this guy has obviously he's been successful everywhere he's been and that's what I'm excited to you know learn and you know learn this operation and the process and his philosophy and how he does things and just being able to work you know Underneath Him and learn and see if we can go ahead and win a lot of football games and uh bring a championship here down now right right now all right let's go to the house in Special Teams growth so when you first started with this special teams unit to where it is now where have you seen the most growth uh I think the most growth has been with the players you know I just love the way they walk around right now with a sense of Pride that you know they've they've done some good things now obviously ultimately we haven't accomplished our goal which is winning a lot of ball games and and winning that Championship but uh you know I think they're excited and they've been you know very proud of what they've accomplished and then being able put two years together uh back to back but at the end of the day it really doesn't mean anything uh you know especially moving forward we have a clean slate we got to make sure you know we got that Foundation but we got to continue to improve and get better so Special Teams continuity when I had asked you when we sat outside just a couple years ago how you find continuity on special teams you told me it really starts just at the point of the operation whether it's the snapping the hold the kicking the punting whatever that may be you now have this Trio with JK with Josh and with Cameron Dicker what is the Synergy like between Special Teams Synergy those three to get those operations really running and and having that continuity I kind of call it the big four and that's in uh Darris Davis too you know so the return We to him in a little bit no you're exactly right but uh you know those three have been great and I think one of the biggest things which I brought up to them at the end of the year was that I love that they have a really you know great foundation in faith you know I think that's the biggest thing you know for our units uh you know I think they do a great job with that but um you know Josh being the leader you know we fought hard to get him here you know when he came free when he was available and uh we're excited for that opportunity to get him here and told him the first day like we want you to be the leader not just for the units for our special teams units but we want you to be the captain of our football team and you know he was able to do that last year and he did a great job and his value for us is you know immeasurable but uh you know being able to bring him and then JK Scott what he was able to do even though he didn't play in 2021 but then kind of revitalized his career he did a he does a great job and you know very excited for him you know for what he does here for this uh this team it's not just what he does on the field but it's also in the locker room with these guys and then uh obviously Dicker you know he's he's great to be around I mean I see all these short videos and everything my name is Cameron Dicker and I'll kick for you I love the way he approaches the game I mean he's he's obviously it seems like he's been in the league for 10 years the way he approaches the game and nothing phases him and it doesn't matter if he just made a big kick to you know if there was unfortunate Miss but this guy he moves on to the next kick if it's the kickoff and and he's ready to go ahead and attack you know his next kick and so I I feel I'm been blessed to be around these guys and um not just those guys but also the core players as well Special Teams Stress it has to feel good because that has to be stressful on game days right when guys are lining up to either P you know make a kick they make they make it easy for for me but I'm probably more uh you know more stressed than they are but cuz those guys go out there they know exactly hey they're like hey F we got it we're good so they do a great job and again they make our job a lot easier and just very fortunate to be around them when you talk about Dicker that sort of Dicker old soul sort of coolness that he has did you have to coach that in him or did he just come in here and you're like all right dude no I think we're I think those those that know me they would be laughing if I they said I coach that but no he he's his own guy but he that's what makes him so great at what he does and his mentality his makeup you know I love his personality and the way he goes about his business I mean this this guy attacks his job and he's very serious about his job but he just gives off that you know hey that cool cucumber approach and just you know that's what I think makes him so good too cuz he does allow he doesn't go up in L highs and lows with his game I mean he's just Steady Eddy and and um you know he very consistent on on what he does dicker's been Sensational this year it is through Dicker with 10 yards to spare all right Darius Davis we teased this earlier Davis you're a pro in this veteran media business here what impressed you the most about what he did last season uh the thing I think that sticks out the most is the way he became a pro early on you know he came in here just learning how to track PS with his mechanics situational football just him learning and understanding the situations I thought was very impressive for me for a young returner and the way he bought in so quickly like I jok with him I mean he would call me on a on a Tuesday or text me on a Tuesday when they're not in the building and just like hey I like this return or I like this or you know so just shows that he was you know watching the tape and you know he's really putting in the time you know which I love cuz that's the big thing going back to your previous question too is the fact that these guys they actually had a sense of Pride but they had account ability and ownership in this and that's what I want it to be cuz it's their units it's not our unit it's their unit and we got to make sure uh you know they do a great job and they and so that's what daryus has done I mean he's bought in and he's just become that big Pro that we've been asking for and and I think he's just going to have continue to have that success you know down the road because of the guys that are surrounded you know around him in terms of protecting and blocking everything and just love being around him what is Players it like when a player starts asking you the questions that you would kind of technically want them to ask where you know something's clicking and something's working up there yeah you know I mean it's it's relieving because then it's like all right they they kind of get it a little bit it's reassuring knowing that you know the way they're thinking about it and that's a growth process and a lot of times they're going to come up questions that maybe we haven't heard of because we're not in that spot playing on the field and playing and that's why I'll learn from those guys as much as you know they learn from us but you know that's why I want to make sure there's that accountability and that ownership where it's like hey I bring suggestions or have ideas these players they bring it to us and we're not afraid to go ahead and use some of those ideas too CU you know sometimes they have great ideas and then lastly F we've seen this group get Future incrementally better year after year where can they go now in 20124 I think we can continue to improve and you know playing situational football um I don't think we've even reached to where I think we can go ahead and help this team win a lot of games obviously we only won you know a handful of games last year but we need to go ahead and make sure we can improve the field position for our offense making those short Fields making the the long fields for our defense uh you know in these games and winning the situational complimentary football battle that we have in each game and ultimately hoping that you know that that helps with the outcomes of the games and winning these games and you know ultimately winning uh the division and Super Bowl awesome happy to have you back I appreciate it thank [Music] you