The last time Randy Mueller was fired as a General Manager, he spent plenty of time out of football before returning to the NFL.

This time around, Mueller was on the sidelines for only a matter of months.

The San Diego Chargers have announced the addition of Mueller to the front office.  His title is “senior executive.”

It’s unclear to us why the Chargers didn’t hire Mueller earlier.  They could have taken full advantage of his work in preparation for free agency and the draft, if they’d hired him promptly after he was fired by Bill Parcells in Miami in January.

Then again, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Parcells offered to pay Mueller a full buyout undiminished by other earnings in the future if he refrained from working for any other team before the 2008 draft.

The Chargers also revealed several promotions, including the promotion of John Spanos to the position of director of college scouting. 

Finally, the team announced the retirement of assistant G.M. Buddy Nix, who steps away from the game at 68.