He guided an injury-ravaged team to a 10-win season last year. The two season-ending defeats have defined the 40-year-old Staley, overshadowing the progress the Chargers made leading up to them.Ī celebrated defensive coordinator with the Rams, Staley inherited a seven-win team and collected nine victories as a rookie head coach. The postgame autopsy raised questions about whether a timeout by Staley prompted the Raiders to play for the win rather than settle for a tie, which would have qualified the Chargers for the postseason. The previous year, they were denied a spot in the playoffs after the Las Vegas Raiders converted a field goal with time expiring in overtime of their Week 18 matchup. Last season, the Chargers were the victims of the third-largest comeback in postseason history when they were defeated by the Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC the wild-card round 31-30. “I think the way the seasons have ended are two of the toughest ways you can lose.” “As someone who loves sports, I understand why people feel that way,” Staley said. insists the Chargers will finally feature a better defense He knows not everyone is enamored with him. Before that, he was the coach who called a controversial timeout that might have cost his team a place in the postseason. He’s the coach who blew a 27-point lead in a playoff game. He knows he’ll spend this season under scrutiny, regardless of what he says or what he doesn’t. Yet Staley is aware enough to know how he’s viewed. The last part is why many coaches and managers refrain from saying the quiet part out loud. They serve, in his words, as “a compass.” They also establish a standard to which his critics can hold him. The words provide direction for his team. “Our expectations here are to be champions,” Staley said. Read more: Chargers' offense under new coordinator Kellen Moore is the bomb with wide-open spaces These days, he sees what everyone else sees, the franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert, the offensive weapons in Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler, the defensive stars in Derwin James, Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, and how a team this talented should win. Two years ago, as a rookie head coach, he addressed the 50-year-old elephant in the room and spoke to his players about the Chargers’ history of choking. To his credit, Staley has never stuck his head in the sand and pretended to not hear what is said by everyone around him. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)īrandon Staley was talking about the Super Bowl the other day, and why not?Īnything short of that and the story probably remains the same, about how the Chargers are cursed and how Staley isn’t the coach who can change that. Coach Brandon Staley watches players during training camp this summer.
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