By CJ Carlson
In what was probably the most anticipated news of the year, the Los Angeles Chargers have parted ways with both their head coach and general manager. The decision comes right after the team was embarrassed on Thursday Night Football, losing 63-21 to their division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders.
Head coach Brandon Staley has been on the hot seat for what has felt like two years now. However, the team has remained confident in his ability to lead this team to where they need to go. He was hired in the 2021 season but has only accumulated a 24-24 overall record with the organization despite having one of the most talented rosters in the league.
Not to mention that he immediately had his franchise quarterback with Justin Herbert on the roster. Everything was in place for a supposed “defensive guru” to take over and lead this team to a Super Bowl. The problem is that it never transpired. The team kept finding new ways to lose games, the defense continued to regress, and injuries repeatedly crept up.
The Los Angeles Chargers Haven’t Been Good Enough
Staley stepped into the head coaching job after being with the Los Angeles Rams. He was the defensive coordinator and helped them become the number one ranked unit in the league, allowing the fewest number of yards and points. When he went to the Chargers, the thought was that he’d continue with guys like Joey Bosa, Derwin James, and Khalil Macak. Instead, the team has never ranked better than 20th in either of those categories. This season, they’re 29th in yards per game allowed. Fans knew this was coming, and it took a beatdown for it to happen.
The more shocking move of the day comes with the Chargers firing the General Manager Tom Telesco as well. Telesco wasn’t thought to be on the hot seat, but when you lose in historic fashion in front of the world, I suppose you get into the spotlight.
Telesco was hired in 2013 and became the youngest general manager in Chargers history at the time. Since taking over, the team has only made the playoffs three times. Telesco also fired a few coaches including Anthony Lynn and Mike McCoy. Chargers’ fans are likely happy that they can enter a new regime again.