The Los Angeles Chargers decided on their next coach – and they didn’t even have to leave their stadium to find him.
The Chargers are hiring Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley as the head coach, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. The team later announced that both sides had agreed to an agreement.
“It’s not just that Brandon has an incredible mind for football that makes him the ideal coach to lead our team,” said general manager Tom Telesco in a statement. “It is that he excels in the ability to adapt, apply and communicate his concepts to players effectively. Of course, Brandon will not be at a disadvantage, he is the football equivalent of a gym rat and that earned him universal respect from players you’ve trained throughout your journey. “
38-year-old Staley ascends the Chargers team after just one season with the Rams, a campaign in which he coordinated the league’s No. 1 defense (in terms of scoring, total defense and passing defense) in the regular 2020 season .
“It is difficult to put into words how excited I am about the opportunity to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers,” said Staley. “While this is certainly a dream come true, it is also a dream that has just begun. There is a reason why this was probably the most sought after job out there – from the property, to the fans, to the city, to the men in that locker room – it’s the total package. I can’t thank the Spanos and Tom Telesco family for putting their faith in us, and by the time everyone is reading this quote in a press release, we’ll already be working hard to develop a Charger fans program in all places can be proud of. “
Under the guidance of Staley, several Rams supporters have had career seasons in the sacks – Leonard Floyd (10.5), Morgan Fox (6.0) and Troy Reeder (3.0) – while striker Michael Brockers recorded his second highest sacks of your career. Floyd’s leap in production was especially impressive after he left Chicago – where he was considered a failure in the first round, or at least, a very discouraging player added through a high draft choice – to Los Angeles, where the change of scenario, scheme and coach did wonders for him.
It was the best defensive season in Los Angeles since 1975, when the Rams allowed only 9.6 points per game and 237.3 total yards per game, and opened the eyes of the rest of the league to the young assistant’s skill and candidacy.
His defensive group stifled the Seattle Seahawks in their wild card meeting, leading to Rams’ victory over the Seahawks, before falling to the Packers on Saturday in the Divisional Round. It took the Chargers just 24 hours after Rams’ defeat to determine that Staley was the guy to move on.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Staley spent three combined seasons as a linebacker trainer at the Denver Broncos (2019) and Chicago Bears (2017-2018). He comes from an experience where he spent time working with prominent defense coaches (John Fox and Vic Fangio), but he also gained equal experience under forward-looking offensive minds (Matt Nagy and Sean McVay), creating a complete foundation that Chargers considered it ready for the main job.
He will take charge of a Chargers team that seeks to live up to expectations after facing a series of injury problems, close losses and a lack of attention to detail that left them on the missing end of the scoreboard most of the time.
Armed with incredibly promising quarterback Justin Herbert and a defense prepared to make an impact when fully healthy (having Derwin James back will be a big boost), Staley is heading into an ideal situation for his first job as head coach.