The Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley does it again. Bone-headed penalties and questionable play-calling again in week two caused the Chargers to lose to the Tennessee Titans 27-24 in overtime. From questionable timeouts and terrible personnel management, these are just a few reasons the Chargers’ head coach needs to be fired as soon as possible.
Brandon Staley’s Game Management
Staley is known around the league for his terrible game management, especially in critical situations. This week two game against the Titans was yet another perfect example of that. With Justin Herbert and the passing game working efficiently throughout the game, the Chargers decided to try and get the running game going, even without their star running back, Austin Ekeler. Los Angeles only had 61 yards on the ground for the entire game, a huge downgrade from last week’s success.
There is no problem with running the ball to kill some clock. However, when the defense has been playing as poorly as the Chargers have, you need to run up the score as much as possible! Los Angeles had many opportunities to ice the game with a touchdown, and what does Staley do? He runs the ball, causing the Chargers to give away possession, giving away the lead on the next Tennessee drive.
“Defensive Mastermind”
Staley is also calling the plays for the Chargers defensively. With all the hype of Staley being this “defensive mastermind”, you would expect the Chargers’ defense to execute. But no, instead, they give up huge plays in crunch time, causing them to ultimately lose the game. In Sunday’s game with the Titans, quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw a pass for 49 yards, getting the Titans in position to score a touchdown to take the three-point lead with 2:22 left in regulation.
This led to Justin Herbert taking his offense down the field to get the game-tying field goal to send it to overtime. But maybe if Staley didn’t put the defense in zone coverage every single play of the game, the Chargers might have been able to stop the Titans, which would most likely give them the win.
Timeout Management
This may be the biggest reason of all that Staley should not be a head coach. His timeout management is horrific and swings the momentum of the game in crucial moments. Remember when the Las Vegas Raiders were going to take a tie in the last game of 2021 to secure both them and the Chargers a playoff spot? Well, that was until Staley called a timeout to try and get the ball back in overtime, which told the Raiders, “We’re going for the win now.”
In the game against the Titans, the Chargers defense had Tennessee in a third-and-two situation outside of field goal range, and running back Derrick Henry was not in the game. The odds of stopping the Titans’ offense from picking up the first down were pretty high. But then, Staley calls a timeout to “switch personnel”, which caused the Titans to put Henry back in the game, pick up the first down, and get into field goal range to win the game.
Find Anyone Else!
The more these bone-headed mistakes from Brandon Staley add up, the hotter his chair gets on the chopping block. He should have been fired last season, after giving up a 27-0 lead to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs. But for some reason, the Chargers’ ownership decided to roll with Staley yet again this season, causing fans and analysts alike to scratch their heads, wondering why this guy still has a head coaching job. Just in case you think he should have another shot, here’s this interesting stat from today.
The Chargers are now 0-2 to start the 2023 season, which is not how any team once set the tone. With all of the potential on both sides of the ball, the Chargers need to act quickly and fire Brandon Staley before they have yet another heartbreaking season.
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