COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley vividly remembers his sales pitch to then-free agent linebacker Eric Kendricks.

From his home in Southern California, Staley sat on the phone with Kendricks, who was vacationing in Hawaii with his wife, Ally, before the anticipated arrival of their baby.

The call lasted about an hour, with the two able to connect on the topics of family and football. For Staley, the conversation easily could have stretched longer if he didn’t feel an obligation to allow Kendricks to return to vacationing.

“There's some times where you just feel like you've known someone a lot longer than you have,” Staley said. “And he's one of those players that I had never coached, but I felt like I knew his game... I think we knew that we were going to have a special thing and that the fit was right.”

With a glaring need at the position after deciding not to retain linebacker Drue Tranquill in free agency, the Chargers signed Kendricks to a two-year, $13.25 million contract.

Through nearly five months, including the offseason program and nearly two weeks in training camp, Kendricks is proving a perfect fit in a defense that features standout edge rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack and safety Derwin James Jr.

“He takes command in the middle and has been a calm presence in there,” first-year defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley said. “It's been really good for us.”

In eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, who released him last March due to salary cap constraints, Kendricks piled up 919 tackles, second in the NFL over that time span behind Bobby Wagner, with 15 sacks and nine interceptions.

“As a linebacker, he's a very complete player,” Staley said. “[He can] key diagnose, concept-trigger, open-field tackle, box tackler, passing-game blitzer. He just brings a lot to the table."

Now entering his ninth season, the 31-year-old Kendricks is tasked with playing alongside fourth-year pro Kenneth Murray Jr. and helping a unit that last season ranked 25th in efficiency and must improve dramatically against the run after allowing a league-worst 5.4 yards per carry.

“The whole learning the terminology, the switching over is a little bit different,” Kendricks said of the transition. “I feel like they've been very good at explaining why we do things and having reasons for them. When you have a reason for why we do stuff and you pair it together, you can understand better.”

Kendricks’ biggest impact could be his intangibles, including his experience, leadership and communication, as he takes over as the defensive signal-caller -- the player who relays coach Brandon Staley’s defensive playcalls on the field.

“Having a guy like Eric running the defense is special,” said Bosa, who’s entering his eighth season. “He's a great leader out there. I think he's going to facilitate the defense in a way that we haven't had.”

“Talk about knowledge and the experience of having him in the middle, you can already hear the voice, and the power and inflection in his voice, whenever he is calling the calls and putting people into position,” Mack said. “It's going to be great, it's going to be fun playing with him.”

Kendricks' ability to communicate with not only teammates, but Staley, will be key.

“It just goes so far beyond going through the play call,” Staley said. “It's the personal relationship, it's the professional relationship. You want him to be able to think and see just like you do. You also want to give him the freedom too. He's the one out there. If he can see something that he feels like can help us, you want to give him that green light to do it.”

Kendricks knows based on experience that the role will only grow more complicated as they reach deeper into the scheme and begin to game-plan for opponents, but for now, he said it’s been going “great.”

“I’ve been getting the calls out quick,” Kendricks said. “We've been getting lined up and playing football.”

As for all the early praise from his teammates, Kendricks expressed an appreciation for their comments, but emphasized that he merely has been playing his part.

“I haven't made, really, any big plays, for me, personally,” Kendricks said. “I'm just doing my job. I'm trying to do it at a high level.”