The Chargers need to move on from Brandon Staley

No doubt about it, the Los Angeles Chargers headed into the 2022 NFL season as genuine Super Bowl contenders.

There was plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this teams chances. A superstar quarterback, a roster brimming with talent across the field, as well as blockbuster signings of Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson.

And yet the Chargers 2022 season ended in viciously familiar fashion.

The Chargers crashed out of the 2022 playoffs in dramatic fashion, losing to the Jaguars, 31-30, on Saturday night at TIAA Bank Stadium. They were 27-0 up at one point in the first half, and led 27-7 into halftime.

Not only that, but Los Angeles won the turnover battle 5-0, with Asante Samuel Jr. picking off Trevor Lawrence a stunning three times. Since 2000, teams who won the turnover margin by five or more were 142-4-1 heading into this game. The Chargers are now the fifth team to lose, joining the 2000 and 2010 Browns, the 2012 Cardinals and the 2007 Bills.

This wasn’t just a defeat. It was a catastrophic humiliation for Brandon Staley and his team.

Disastrous loss to the Jaguars sums up Chargers season

As edge rusher Kyle Van Noy said, the Chargers “choked” on Saturday night. In fact, it ended up being the Chargers’ biggest blown lead in franchise history. How did it all go so wrong?

With the offseason signings, the progression of Justin Herbert and the young studs around him, the expectations for Staley’s Chargers were as high as any team going into this year. But the Chargers proved once again to be too inconsistent, too poor. Injuries hurt them, but they can’t continue to make excuses for falling short once again.

In the match against the Jaguars, the Chargers were out-played in every facet of the game, excluding Samuel’s elite cornerback play in the opening 20 minutes. Staley was out-coached by Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson, despite LA being the favourites going into the tie.

Once considered the fastest-rising defensive guru in all of pro football, Staley’s defense was burned for 109 rushing yards by Travis Etienne and Lawrence threw touchdowns to four different players. Add that to the questions and scepticism labelled on Staley throughout his short tenure with the Chargers suggests he is extremely under pressure.

His first season was similar. Disrupted by questionable coaching decisions and ending in disappointment, as the Chargers missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record, losing three of their last four games. 

In 2022, the Chargers had fallen to a 6-6 record after a Week 13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and we again in danger of missing the postseason. And despite recovering to make the playoffs, it wasn’t without controversy over his coaching. He even faced criticism over the playing time he gave starters and key players in Los Angeles’ loss to Denver in the regular-season finale, particularly as receiver Mike Williams suffered an injury in the dead-rubber game.

Has Staley lost the support of his team? Perhaps. It could be a slippery slope for LA if changes aren’t made. Quick.

What next for the Chargers?

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith insisted there was ‘no coming back’ for Staley following the humiliating defeat as NFL fans claimed the loss could ‘seal the deal’ on his firing. And it’s hard to disagree.

With the likes of Sean Payton available on the head coach market, a change in the role could be too tempting for the Chargers, who need end their Staley experiment.

Since the defeat to the Jaguars, we’ve heard a lot about this being “the same old Chargers”. Something has to change for this franchise and the narrative they’ve built for themselves. They cannot afford for this golden generation to go to waste.

Staley was been the hottest coaching prospect available a few years ago. Now, he might well be back on the market much sooner than anticipated.