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Brandon Staley was already in Los Angeles before the city’s AFC team hired him. He was serving his first and only season as Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator before the Los Angeles Chargers made him their head coach.
While Staley has done a bit better than his predecessor, Anthony Lynn, his stint has been riddled by more struggles than success. Case in point: they put up only 10 points against the Baltimore Ravens despite having Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler. Results like these can endanger a coach's job.
Brandon Staley likely to be fired at season’s end
Bleacher Report NFL Insider Jordan Schultz said about the third-year head coach:
“Brandon Staley, barring a miracle down the stretch, is out with the Los Angeles Chargers. And the reason is they have not had sustained regular season success. They've only been to one playoff game in three-plus years.
"It was a catastrophic loss to the Jaguars. Their defense is consistently the bottom half or, in this case, this season, bottom five across every major statistical category, including total defense, which is dead last.”
Brandon Staley has six more games to save his position in that case. Winning all those games could give them a shot at a Wild Card spot in the 2023 American Football Conference playoffs. If they do, they hope to avoid repeating what happened last season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. They lost the game, 31-30, despite having a 27-7 half-time lead.
Likewise, Staley is likely to suffer his first losing season in Los Angeles. The Chargers already have seven losses against four wins, putting them at the bottom of the AFC West. Their remaining six games won’t be easy because four are division games.
Aside from a road game against the New England Patriots and a home game versus the Buffalo Bills, the Chargers will face all their division rivals. That’s one game against the Las Vegas Raiders, two games against the surging Denver Broncos, and their season-ender versus division leaders Kansas City Chiefs.
Brandon Staley’s defensive scheme isn’t working
Despite the 10-point output against the Baltimore Ravens, the Chargers have been predominantly good offensively. Through 11 games, they are 11th in total yards (347.5), 10th in passing yards (243.5), and tied for seventh in points (24.5) per game.
But while Brandon Staley is hailed as a defensive specialist, they have struggled to stop teams from scoring. They give up the most yards (390.6) and passing yards (280) per game. The Chargers are also tied for eighth-worst in points allowed at 23.5 per game.
Despite having the likes of Khalil Mack, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Joey Bosa, Asante Samuel Jr. and Derwin James Jr. on defense, Staley's crew has these sub-par results.
