The Los Angeles Chargers have painfully lost a great deal of games in the closing stages, shattering many hearts in the process. But from the beginning on Thursday night, they gave their fans the knife.
Despite having Justin Herbert sidelined due to injury, the Chargers still managed to perform remarkably below expectations. That’s an understatement, actually. This franchise has never had a worse performance than the one they received from the Las Vegas Raiders, who crushed them 63-21.
One person who is being called the poster child for the disaster is LA head coach Brandon Staley. But rather than raising the white flag, he’s just calling the terrifying outcome a bad day.
Brandon Staley on why he believes he should be the coach of the #Chargers moving forward despite the loss
"Games like this happen in the NFL to every coach that's ever coached in this league you can look at any great coach that's ever coached in the league, sometimes games like…
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) December 15, 2023
According to NFL Network’s Bridget Condon, Staley said after the game, “Games like this happen in the NFL to every coach that’s ever coached in this league you can look at any great coach that’s ever coached in the league, sometimes games like this happen and I don’t need to retrace history but it’s just part of sports.” There are games where nothing goes right at all sometimes. You need to move on to the next thing and put it behind you.
How is the man supposed to respond? He is obviously not going to willingly hang himself in front of general manager Tom Telesco and owner Dean Spanos. Even so, Staley won’t be receiving a lot of vocal support following this humiliation.
The team as a whole appeared lethargic, the offense committed five turnovers, and the defense barely put forth any effort. For the Chargers, this is the pinnacle of an extremely disappointing season. Is it now appropriate to spare Brandon Staley? That very question has an answer he can provide.
Indeed. According to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, the coach remarked, “I know what I’ve done here for three years.” Staley would be well to hang onto that confidence, as it will likely come in handy when he is regretfully required to update his resume during the offseason.
