SAN DIEGO – Jordan Beane of Chargers.com talked with new San Diego Chargers linebackers coach Mike Nolan for a few minutes in this video.

Nolan provided a pretty simple reason for taking the coaching position on Mike McCoy’s staff when asked why he chose San Diego – he was looking for a new job after Mike Smith and most of his coaching staff were dismissed by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. Nolan was the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos when McCoy worked as the offensive coordinator there in 2009.

“Mike McCoy and I worked together up in Denver,” Nolan said. “He called and asked if I’d be interested, and naturally, I was. I think you have a very good team here. I was out of work, so yeah, I was very interested.”

Nolan said he’s excited to work with defensive coordinator John Pagano, noting that guys play hard for him. And he also offered an interesting perspective on how he wants defensive players to perform on the field – with an offensive mindset.

“I know it’s a defensive position, but in order to be good, you have to be an offensive player,” Nolan said. “It’s a violent game; we all know that. And typically the players that are offensive in the way they play, and not safe, are the best players.

“It’s not that there’s not a place for a safe player, because a lot of guys that maybe look like me are safe because you just want to keep your job. But if you’re a good player and you have a lot of ability, you want to be an aggressive, offensive player. You want to take the fight to the other team. So it’s not always defense.

“Defensive gives the guy a mindset a little bit more of read and react, so to speak. When you’re offensive, I think all players enjoy playing with that type of mindset. So if we get it right, that’s what we want to do, and that’s what we want it to look like.”