Brandon Staley, the New Orleans Saints’ defensive coordinator, is finally pulling back the curtain on his brief, turbulent tenure as the Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach, admitting to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe that he was trying to push it with that team. His time with the Bolts only lasted 48 games from 2021 to 2023, and now Staley is reflecting on what he would do completely differently if given another shot. He says he’d have “a lot more poise and composure in terms of knowing when to push and when to pull.” That’s a huge insight into how things went down.
The Chargers Rollercoaster: From Near Misses to Disaster
Man, that Chargers run was wild. Staley took over in 2021 after the team had missed the playoffs two years straight, going 12-20. Things actually looked up in his first season, with the Bolts finishing 9-8. They jumped from 18th in scoring offense in 2020 to fifth in 2021. But get this: the defense was a mess, allowing the fourth-most points in the league. They started 8-5 but fell apart, going 1-3 down the stretch. The absolute kicker? A 35-32 road loss to the Las Vegas Raiders that would have sent them to the playoffs if they had just won or tied. Can you even imagine that feeling? Staley said, “I was trying to push it, and I was trying to get us there as fast as we could.” It felt like he was always trying to force the issue, trying to get results instantly.
Then came 2022, and the Chargers actually *did* make the playoffs, vaulting in with a four-game winning streak to finish 10-7. But the drama didn’t stop there. They were up an unbelievable 27-0 late in the second quarter of their AFC Wild Card game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and somehow blew it, falling 31-30 after a dramatic comeback. You don’t forget collapses like that. The 2023 season was a complete nightmare. After a 4-4 start, they went on a brutal 1-5 skid, capped by an ugly 63-21 loss to the Raiders. Staley was fired right after that, and the Chargers finished a dismal 5-12, bringing his overall record to 24-24. He truly believes he “could have done a better job” and “I would do a better job just with more turns at it.”
A Second Chance and a Major Impact in New Orleans
But here’s the kicker: Staley landed on his feet fast. He was the San Francisco 49ers’ assistant head coach/defense in 2024 before becoming the Saints’ defensive coordinator in 2025, and the dude made an *immediate* impact. The Saints went from allowing 5.8 yards per play, which was 29th in the league in 2024, all the way down to 4.8 yards per play in 2025, good for fourth in the NFL! That’s a massive turnaround.
Staley clearly feels like he learned some hard lessons during his Charger days, lessons that are benefiting him now. Continued defensive success could easily put him back in head coach conversations down the line. For now, he’s focused on helping a Saints team that finished last year strong with a 4-1 run and is looking to contend in a wide-open NFC South. Keep an eye on the Saints defense this year, because Staley’s experience is making a huge difference.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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