Latest NFL news provides big opportunity for former Tennessee Vols coach

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated 12/18/23

Late last week, the Los Angeles Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley after his team's embarrassing 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football.

Staley, a former graduate assistant at Tennessee, went 24-24 in his three seasons as the Chargers' head coach.

One of the big storylines for the Chargers this season was Staley's refusal to hand over defensive play-calling duties to his defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley.

Brandon Staley on if he will continue to call the Chargers plays on defense:

“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." pic.twitter.com/eno5OOSvOw
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 19, 2023

Ansley, who was promoted to defensive coordinator ahead of the 2023 season, served as Tennessee's defensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. He was also the Vols' defensive backs coach in 2012 (the same season that Staley was a graduate assistant at UT).

With Staley out in Los Angeles, Ansley is expected to finally get a chance to call defensive plays for the Chargers. It will be his first time calling defensive plays in the NFL.

Lindsey confirms here that the Chargers wanted to allow the coordinators to maintain their roles to close out the season while Giff Smith serves as the interim head coach. Defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley will presumably call plays and get a 3 game audition himself. https://t.co/cIdDBPHdO4
— Guilty As Charged Podcast (@GACPodcast17) December 16, 2023

Ansley gets three games to make a good impression with the Chargers. But even if he isn't retained by whoever is hired to replace Staley, he could still land an NFL job with defensive play-calling responsibilities this offseason if he does a nice job with the Chargers over these last few weeks. It's a massive opportunity for the former Tennessee assistant.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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