The Chargers announced Monday that they will not renew the contract of special-teams coach Steve Crosby for the 2011 season.

Despite finishing the season ranked No. 1 in both total offense and defense, the Chargers missed the playoffs due largely to their special-teams failures. San Diego allowed three kickoff returns for TDs, including a 97-yarder Sunday at Denver, had four punts blocked and gave up 18.9 yards per punt return this season. It all led to Crosby, who joined the team in 2002, being let go.

"We appreciate Steve's hard work and dedication to this team over the past nine seasons," said head coach Norv Turner.

The way we see it

The writing was on the wall for this move, and many expected it to happen during the season. As badly as Turner would have liked to keep the accomplished Crosby around, in the end, somebody had to take the fall for one of the worst special-teams performances in league history. The guy in charge of that unit was the obvious choice.

Injuries certainly played a role in San Diego's special teams being depleted for much of 2010, but the group's inability to do the simple things was what ultimately cost Crosby his job. Fixing this area will be one of the Bolts' top priorities of the offseason.