The Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, falling to 4-6. For the most part, the Chargers have been able to defeat lesser opponents this year, save for the Titans Week 2 overtime loss. Most of their losses have come against tough teams like the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Lions. This game bucked that trend, and while it wasn’t the only factor, the pass defense got torched by Jordan Love of all people – arguably a new low for them this year (after their new low in Week 10–notice a theme?). However, the biggest story of all in the aftermath was how head coach Brandon Staley handled the press conference. Spoiler alert: it did not go well.
The Clock Is Ticking for Brandon Staley After Week 11 Loss and Press Conference
Staley’s full press conference can be found here – and while it wasn’t a meltdown in the vein of Dennis Green or Jim Mora, he was getting testy with the reporters and seemed quite tense. There’s plenty to break down here, but we’ll focus on the highlights.
The Highlights (or Lowlights?) of Staley’s Presser
The reporters – Daniel Popper in particular – were pushing at Brandon Staley concerning the play of his defense and his defensive play-calling. When asked for the second straight week if he would surrender defensive play-calling duties, his annoyed response was: “You can stop asking that question. I’m going to be calling the defenses. Okay? So we’re clear. So you don’t have to ask that again.”
When pressed further about the play of the defense, Staley deflected, saying that there were other factors in the loss – which was technically true; there were some red zone struggles on offense, which he pointed out. However, he claimed “it certainly wasn’t our defense,” despite the fact that Love passed for an easily-career-high 322 yards, and pointed specifically to drops and a fumble near the goal line by Austin Ekeler as “the story.”
This feels like throwing Ekeler – and the offense – under the bus, considering Staley wasn’t even asked about the offense but chose to draw attention to them anyway so he wouldn’t have to admit the defense was the main reason for the loss. The offense had some sloppy moments, but against a team like the Packers, it should have been enough to win. Staley – and some fans – may point to stuff like Ekeler’s fumble or Quentin Johnston’s horrific drop at the end of the game, but against the Packers and Love, they should not have been in that position in the first place.
Lowlights, Continued
Towards the end, the subject of Quentin Johnston’s drop issues came up – and while Staley didn’t throw him under the bus for that, he did retort that “You [the reporter] were also at training camp, and he made a lot of big plays at training camp, so you need to do, you know, your reporting justice.” Aside from the oddity of appealing to training camp performance in Week 11, that kind of remark probably isn’t going to endear him any further to reporters — at best, it just gives them fuel.
After that last exchange, the presser ended with him being asked if there was any update on Joey Bosa’s injury — to which he answered no — and then he just randomly up and left, seemingly storming off.
A general theme in this presser (and others this year as well) is that Staley, while he claimed to take responsibility for the loss, refused to entertain the idea that his defensive play-calling or gameplans could be to blame at all. Three straight years of ranking in the bottom half of the league despite having multiple Pro Bowlers or even All-Pros on defense indicates otherwise.
The Wheels Are Falling Off for Brandon Staley
There are probably multiple points in the season that one could look at as the time when it became clear that Brandon Staley was going to be toast. However, I think this game and its aftermath is that threshold. Whatever excuses could’ve been made the first year or two are ringing hollow when the defense has actively gotten worse this year. And again, a supposed defensive guru’s defense has ranked in the bottom half of the league three years in a row. There’s been plenty of time for him to adjust things this year, and it’s not happening. This defense is undisciplined and playing poorly and they’re not going to get better – or at least, not better enough – while Staley is calling the shots.
But the press conference after this game feels like the nail in the coffin. Again, this may not be on the level of more famous coach meltdowns, but when you reach the point where you’re getting testy with reporters and randomly throwing players under the bus, that’s a sign that the wheels are falling off. Staley’s days as head coach are numbered.
It’s quite possible that he doesn’t get fired until the end of the season, because the Spanos ownership is too apathetic to make a move like that most of the time (otherwise Anthony Lynn probably would’ve been fired midseason in 2020). However, if Staley ends up losing the locker room, Spanos may be left with no choice.
Main Photo: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
