Oct 4, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley speaks during a press conference after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley gave clarification on why the franchise fired Joe Lombardi after the loss to Jaguars.
The failure of the Los Angeles Chargers to perform well against the Jacksonville Jaguars during Super Wild Card Weekend caused head coach Brandon Staley to make adjustments to his offensive staff. Staley will need to hire new people to fill the openings left by the firing of Joe Lombardi, who was the offensive coordinator for the Chargers, and Shane Day, who was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The fact that Staley’s offense finished 11th in total yards per game in 2022 is an accomplishment, especially when one considers that the Chargers played a substantial chunk of the season without either Keenan Allen or Mike Williams, two of their best targets. Los Angeles was struck hard by injuries on both sides of the ball, but as the team got important players back late in the season, they appeared to catch their stride, winning four of their final five games to wrap out the regular season slate.
Speaking about the changes to the offense, Staley said, “Just felt like we needed to make changes to the offense and the vision I have on that side of the ball, I think there’s a different gear we need to get to as a football team, definitely not an easy decision because they did a really quality job for two years, but I think we can make improvements on that side of the football, and that’s what we’re going to have our focus be moving forward.”
The Chargers got off to a strong start in their game against the Jaguars in Jacksonville by recovering four interceptions and building a four-possession lead in the first half of play. However, signs of problems began to surface when they punted late in the first half. This allowed Jacksonville just enough time to build a touchdown drive, which trimmed the lead to 27-7 and brought the game closer.
After then, the Los Angeles offense fell into a stalemate, scoring only three more points for the rest of the game while seeing its defense go apart against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. Staley feels that the attacking strategy they used was below par, which contributed to their devastating loss.
After the defeat at the hands of the Jaguars, it may have appeared as though Brandon Staley’s position as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers was in jeopardy, but it is likely that he will return for the next campaign. Staley is still optimistic about his squad and believes that making a few adjustments will be enough for them to make a run at the Super Bowl the following year.
Staley said, “I have a lot of confidence in the way we’ve done things for two years, I have a lot of confidence in what I see on the football field week in and week out, I know the type of improvements that we’ve been able to make as a football team since I’ve been here,”
He added, “I think the way that we finished the season, the way we finished down the stretch, shows you all the things that we’re excited about moving forward. I know that the culture that we have in the locker room, I know the quality of the product on the field, and I know the capacity we have to grow, and we have all these things in place where we made tremendous improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, and now from Year 2 to Year 3 we expect to make those same types of improvements.
Next time around, Justin Herbert will be entering his fourth season in the NFL, and by that point, he may have already signed a massive extension to his current contract. It is going to be a very important season for them, and if they are unable to do what they set out to do, Staley might lose his job with the organization.
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