Brandon Staley isn’t the only Chargers coach to squander a top-tier quarterback. He’s only the most recent example.
A consistent thread runs through Chargers history, from San Diego to Los Angeles, through the years of Dan Fouts, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, and now Justin Herbert: an inability to capitalize on having a fantastic player at the game’s most crucial position.
The franchise has only made one Super Bowl trip, and it was led by tough Stan Humphries, who led a team with a playmaking defense and a tendency for clutch moments to victory in Super Bowl XXXIX. And its head coach is replaced every few years.
Meanwhile, the Spanos family has retained ownership since 1984, first via patriarch Alex, and later through son Dean. And the Chargers’ coaching staff is littered with Spanoses.
The Chargers are a small-town team in the NFL’s second-largest market.
In 2019, Brandon Staley, a former Broncos outside-linebackers coach who served under Vic Fangio, became the next casualty of this failing legacy.
The Chargers fired him on Friday, just hours after the Broncos were humiliated by the Las Vegas Raiders, 63-21, in a game that was, in some ways, more embarrassing than the Broncos’ 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins in September.
The Chargers also sacked general manager Tom Telesco, who had been with the team for so long that Staley was his third ex-Broncos assistant to work as a head coach, joining Mike McCoy and Anthony Lynn.
That’s the problem. The Bolts’ problem is bigger than the coach or general manager.
Following the Chargers’ loss to the Raiders, Staley admitted that he didn’t know if he would still be the Chargers’ coach. But he believed he deserved to keep his job.
Unfortunately for the embattled Staley and the long-serving Telesco, the Chargers’ similarly embattled ownership thought otherwise.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR BRANDON STALEY?
Thursday night was only one game, and it was played without Herbert, who shattered his index finger against the Broncos last Sunday, thereby ending his season.
But it also demonstrated the extent of the Chargers’ problems — and how significant Herbert’s impact is. It became clear that the fourth-year quarterback is the pole holding the Chargers’ tent together.The Chargers have been outscored 80-28 in six-plus quarters since Herbert left last Sunday’s game at SoFi Stadium. A scoop-and-score touchdown off a strip sack by Ja’Quan McMillian was reversed by instant replay, making the score even more lopsided.The Chargers’ roster woes are exposed without Herbert. Even with Herbert signed to a long-term contract, this, combined with the team’s long track record of underachievement under Spanos family ownership, is enough to give plenty of candidates pause.
The Chargers have officially squandered Herbert’s four years of cost restraint. They have a solitary playoff appearance — without a win — to show for those seasons. Herbert’s cap figure will grow in future years as part of a 5-year deal worth up to $262.5 million. His cap charge will exceed $37 million in 2025 and grow from there; it was $8.457 million this year.
As a result, the Chargers’ task of assembling a team around Herbert, which they have failed to do over the last four years, becomes more difficult.
This might make it tough for the Chargers to attract the type of coach they desire.
Sean Payton, the head coach of the Denver Broncos, has previously commented about the “triangle” that exists between the head coach, general manager, and ownership. This was one of the factors that drove him to Denver; there is abundant evidence that the Walton-Penner group provides the necessary assistance.It’s something a future Chargers coach might not have under Spanos family ownership — and it could assure the Broncos maintain an advantage in this AFC West rivalry even with Herbert in town.
Even though the Broncos have struggled in recent years, they may be able to hold their own against the Chargers. Denver has won six of the last nine games in the series and has not been swept by the Bolts since 2010.
In Los Angeles, the coach will be replaced. So will the general manager.
However, as long as ownership remains in place, the results should remain consistent, much to the delight of the Broncos.
