Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore " Ken " Whisenhunt ( born February 28 , 1962 ) is an American Football coach currently serving as the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers . Whisenhunt was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from – and led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history during the 2008 season . Previously , he was known for his offensive background , including the success he had with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his 3 years as their offensive coordinator under Bill Cowher and winning Super Bowl XL during the 2005 season . Playing career . After attending the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta , Georgia for high school , Whisenhunt played college football at Georgia Tech ( 1980 – 84 ) where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering . During his senior season , he was an honorable mention All - American . He finished first team all - ACC during his final two college seasons . His career as a player included 4 years ( 1985 – 88 ) as a tight end with the Atlanta Falcons , who drafted him in the twelfth round , and then short stints with the Washington Redskins and New York Jets . He retired from the league in 1993 after nine seasons in which he was mostly known as a blocking back . Coaching career . Early career . He began his coaching career at Vanderbilt University , where he coached special teams , tight end s and running back s for the Commodores from 1995 – 96 . In 1997 , he returned to the NFL as the tight ends coach for the Baltimore Ravens . Whisenhunt was a transient in his early years in the league , moving to the staff of the Cleveland Browns in 1999 and to the New York Jets the following season . Pittsburgh Steelers . In 2001 , Whisenhunt was hired by the Steelers to coach their tight ends . He was able to develop players such as Mark Bruener and Jay Riemersma , both considered past their prime , into excellent blocking backs . He also oversaw the early development of tight end Heath Miller , who has been a successful tight end in the league . Whisenhunt took over the role of offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh for the 2004 season after Mike Mularkey became the head coach of the Buffalo Bills . Although his predecessor Mularkey was known for creating flashy trick plays , Whisenhunt showed great success as more of a cautious innovator , whose well - timed trick plays contrasted the conservative Steelers run game . One of Whisenhunt ' s most famous moments as a Steeler is the trick play he called in Super Bowl XL . With Pittsburgh leading 14 - 10 over the Seattle Seahawks , Whisenhunt called a wide receiver reverse pass ( Antwaan Randle El to Hines Ward , the only TD pass thrown by a WR in Super Bowl history ) that allowed Pittsburgh to pull away . Arizona Cardinals . On January 14 , 2007 the Arizona Cardinals hired Whisenhunt as their new head coach , with a contract to receive an average of $ 2 . 5 million annually . Whisenhunt had also interviewed for the head coaching position with the Pittsburgh Steelers , Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins . He was previously interviewed to be the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in February 2006 , but he pulled out of talks before an offer could be made . The Cardinals showed improvement in Whisenhunt ' s first season , finishing 8 - 8 after finishing 5 - 11 the previous two seasons and losing 10 or more games in seven of the previous eight campaigns . It was their first non - losing season since 1998 , though they still failed to make the playoffs . Going into his second season in 2008 , Whisenhunt made the decision to go with veteran quarterback Kurt Warner as his starter . In previous seasons , Warner had split time with the team ' s younger quarterback Matt Leinart , although Warner started the final 11 games of the 2007 season after Leinart suffered a season - ending injury . This decision paid off as Warner put up great numbers in leading the Cardinals to a 9 - 7 regular season record in the 2008 season and the NFC West Division championship , the Cardinals ' first division title since 1975 , when the team played in St . Louis , and the club ' s first playoff berth since 1998 . After defeating the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers in the first two rounds of the NFC playoffs , the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship on January 18 , 2009 and advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history to face the Pittsburgh Steelers , where Whisenhunt formerly occupied the post of offensive coordinator . Whisenhunt ' s Cardinals lost the game 27 - 23 . The following season , Whisenhunt led the Cardinals to a 10 - 6 record and another NFC West Division championship . The Cardinals then advanced past the first round of the playoffs by beating the Green Bay Packers 51 - 45 in overtime before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 45 - 14 in the next round . Following the retirement of Warner and a number of other losses at other positions , the Cardinals were not expected to fare well during the 2010 season . Leinart had been expected to regain his starting quarterback job , but Whisenhunt made the decision to install free agent pickup Derek Anderson as the starter , move rookie Max Hall to backup , and release Leinart from the team . The Cardinals finished 5 - 11 and last in the NFC West . In 2011 , despite ongoing quarterback issues , Whisenhunt and the team management put together a solid young roster that finished with an 8 - 8 record . In 2012 , Whisenhunt guided the Cardinals to their first 4 - 0 start since 1974 , when the franchise was coached by Don Coryell in St . Louis . The Cardinals proceeded to lose 9 straight games and in week 14 were blown out by the Seattle Seahawks 58 - 0 . The losing streak finally ended the following week with a 38 - 10 victory over the Detroit Lions . On December 31 , 2012 , Whisenhunt was relieved of his head coaching duties by the Cardinals after 3 straight non - playoff seasons . Rod Graves , general manager at the time , was also relieved of his duties . San Diego Chargers . He was recently hired as offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers , under new head coach Mike McCoy ( former OC of the Denver Broncos ) . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Ken Whisenhunt has served : Assistant coaches under Ken Whisenhunt who became NFL head coaches : Personal . Ken and his wife , Alice , have two children : a son Kenneth Jr . , and daughter Mary Ashley . Whisenhunt earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a boy .