Johnston was visibly upset in the locker room and said there was "no excuse" for the miscue.Īfter the game, Staley let loose with a tirade aimed at reporters, who questioned the coach's confidence in himself and his defense. The Packers won 23-20 and the Chargers fell to 4-6. Johnston dropped a wide-open pass that would have put the Chargers in field goal range with 23 seconds left in the game. Johnston, the Chargers first-round pick, had his lowest moment of the season in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers. To wide receiver Quentin Johnston, Staley was the support system he needed in a tumultuous rookie season. He wasn't overly strict about timeliness, didn't lose his temper and was receptive to input from the team's leadership council and assistants. STALEY WAS A departure from the typical NFL head coach, according to multiple team sources. "Essentially, when you fire a guy, you're saying that there's a guy out there right now who is going to set our team up with better chances to win the Super Bowl in their second or first year with a brand new team than Staley would in his third or fourth year or fifth year?" a team source said. He leaves behind what multiple team sources described as a disconnected locker room - created, in part, by a coach who often got in his own way - and a roster full of aging stars, putting the team's future in question. 500 record over three seasons reflects a team that flirted with success as often as it did with disaster. "At a certain point with him it just felt like words didn't matter," one team source said. It was the first time the organization had parted ways with a coach during the season since it dismissed Kevin Gilbride in 1998. This time, the Spanos family would not spare Staley, firing him and general manager Tom Telesco the next morning. A team source said Staley repeated the "games like these happen in the NFL" line, a message he later repeated to the media. When Staley stood before the team in the visitor's locker room at Allegiant Stadium, there was an element of déjà vu. The Chargers were without Herbert, lost for the year with a broken finger on his throwing hand, and receiver Keenan Allen. The 63-21 defeat came against the Las Vegas Raiders, a team without its All-Pro running back, and led by an interim coach, general manager and a fourth-round rookie quarterback. Less than a year later, in front of a prime-time audience on "Thursday Night Football," the Chargers suffered another historic loss. "But the way you lose sometimes is even worse." "Losing is terrible," team owner Dean Spanos said last March as he reflected on that playoff game. One team source described the Jacksonville game as reflective of Staley's lack of accountability - and the moment he began to lose players - pointing to the screaming match with Wilhoite, who was subsequently fired. To some, it felt like Staley was shifting ownership of the collapse off the squad - and himself - as a regular occurrence, team sources said. When Staley entered the locker room - facing a grieving team in disbelief - he told them, in part, "games like this happen in the NFL." The message annoyed some players, especially those who had played on other teams and experienced postseason success. It was the latest chapter in a book full of disappointments by this Chargers franchise. The Jaguars would defeat the Chargers 31-30 in what was the third-largest comeback in playoff history. Wilhoite countered that Staley had made a "dumbass playcall" and that the linebackers had done their job, according to team sources who witnessed the sideline exchange. Staley believed Wilhoite's group had made an error on a big Jacksonville play. As the unit collapsed, Staley could be heard screaming at linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite. Staley's defense, previously so opportunistic, had no answers for Trevor Lawrence and the Jags. Los Angeles' offense, powered by Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert, stalled. Staley, who called the defensive plays, watched as his defense forced four turnovers in the first 30 minutes. Staley had the upper hand on Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, outscheming the ex-Eagles' Super Bowl winner and rendering the EverBank Stadium crowd stone silent. When the Chargers bolted to a 27-0 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, it appeared the late-season surge would continue. 14.Ĭoach Brandon Staley had led an injury-ravaged team to wins in four of its last five games during the 2022 season, securing a playoff matchup with the Jaguars on that Saturday evening. THE UNRAVELING OF the Los Angeles Chargers began in Jacksonville, Florida, on Jan. Why a disconnected Chargers team was Brandon Staley's downfall You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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