Brandon Staley should be fired after Chargers catastrophic loss to the Jaguars

The Los Angeles Chargers were up 27-0 at one point against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round playoff game Saturday. The Jaguars would end up winning the game 31-30. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has made his way into the history books but only because this game was the third-largest comeback win in NFL history.

It’s time for the Chargers ownership to cut ties with Brandon Staley. While a record of 19-15 in two seasons with one playoff appearance (a loss) isn’t an abysmal record by any means there is too much at stake to continue on this path.

The Chargers are extremely talented on both sides of the ball. Justin Herbert has the potential to be a generational talent in the NFL and his main knock so far is a lack of postseason success. The Chargers‘ defense turned itself around in the second half of the 2022 regular season. The Chargers’ defense hauled in four interceptions in the loss as well as a fumble recovery. With a double-digit lead of that magnitude as well as historically terrible numbers from the opposing quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, the Chargers should be getting ready to play in the divisional round next week.

But they aren’t. Instead, the team hit the reset button with Justin Herbert’s first appearance in the playoffs resulting in disaster. This isn’t all on Brandon Staley as Herbert misfired throughout the second half only scoring three points throughout the 30-minute period.

But no one represents an NFL team’s performance more than the coaching staff. Staley had already developed a personality for head-scratching play calls but the first straw was when wide receiver Mike Williams became injured in Week 18. The Week 18 game had no bearing on the Chargers’ playoff seeding but Staley kept him in regardless which ended in a back injury that held Williams out of last night’s game against the Jaguars.

The real failure of the game that does rest on Staley’s shoulders is the lack of adjustments in the second half. Staley clearly hoped to take time off the clock, and he successfully did take 15 minutes off, but only had three points to show for it. The offense could not continue to be productive and the Jaguars’ defense had sniffed out the game plan.

Another troubling observation from the game was the fact that Staley appeared to lose control of his players on the sideline. Edge rusher Joey Bosa expressed some significant frustration after multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and issues with the officiating staff. On one occasion Bosa slams his helmet on the ground and instead of addressing the issue Staley hands it back to Bosa who in turn slams the helmet on the ground again. That shows a clear lack of command presence and also it shows Bosa’s lack of respect for his coach. Apparently, respect is earned and Bosa does not believe Staley earned it that night.

Some of the league’s biggest personalities believe a loss this significant can mean only one thing;

Staley must be fired.

While Stephen A Smith believes that former Saints head coach Sean Payton is the answer there are a number of head coaching candidates that could resume Staley’s role and get the Chargers back into the playoffs. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy could be a strong fit for a gunslinger like Herbert. If the Chargers ownership wants to remain with the Shanahan “tree” of coaching 49ers defensive coordinator Demeco Ryans would be a perfect match with some of the stars this defense boasts.

Either way, this loss will follow Staley and the Chargers around for decades to come, and even though Staley isn’t a bad coach he just isn’t right for this organization anymore.