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Chargers' Brandon Staley Says He Wasn't Worried About Job Security During 2022 Season
January 18, 2023
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley told reporters on Wednesday that he never felt like his job security was in question during the 2022 season.
He also said he felt the Chargers "improved as a franchise" throughout the course of this past year:
"I'm as frustrated as anyone who's a Chargers fan over what happened, because there's no one investing as much as we are in what happened," Staley said of the team blowing a 27-0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round. "The first half of that football game I think you saw the very best of our team. And then the second half, you saw the places we need to improve. But since I've been the head coach—I've been the head coach for [35] games—and that's the first time [we've blown a lead like that]."
In those 35 games—34 in the regular season and the one playoff contest—Staley has led the Chargers to a 19-16 record, with two straight winning seasons. The team had two straight losing campaigns before Staley was hired in 2021.
Whether that's consolation for Chargers fans after Saturday night's brutal meltdown remains to be seen. Staley's job security became a huge topic of conversation after the loss:
Stephen A Smith @stephenasmithCongratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanPayton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SeanPayton</a>. Welcome to Los Angeles as the new coach is the <a href="https://twitter.com/chargers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chargers</a>. There is no way Brandon Staley can keep his job after blowing this lead. There's no coming back from this for him!
Bill Simmons @BillSimmonsJust a hall of fame horrible football loss. Unspeakable. Shoot the Chargers into the sun. Not sure who had a worse 2nd half — Staley, the refs, the LAC D, Chargers -2.5 bettors or Michaels and Dungy who were in a coma. Kudos to Lawrence though. Rallied from a possible Delhomme!
All indications are that the Chargers won't be making a change at head coach, though Staley has made changes on the coaching staff:
Albert Breer @AlbertBreerMy understanding is that Chargers coach Brandon Staley has been meeting with ownership all week, and they're on the same page and working together towards 2023.<br><br>Focus first is on finding a new offensive coordinator, and Justin Herbert makes that post an attractive one. <a href="https://t.co/Envf7kho5k">https://t.co/Envf7kho5k</a>
"There is progress being made within our football team, and you can see it," Staley told reporters. "Because the team you see right now is a much different team than we had a year ago. And so what I would tell the fans is I'm just as disappointed as they are, but I'm really excited to get this process started because—just like last year when we made a lot of big improvements in our football team that gave us this chance to compete for a championship—I know that if we keep making that type of progress we'll consistently be there at the end."
If that type of progress doesn't happen, Staley's seat is going to get red-hot a year from now. For now, however, the Chargers are sticking with their head coach.