Chargers fire coach Brandon Staley, GM Tom Telesco after blowout loss to Raiders

The Los Angeles Chargers fired coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco on Friday, one day after a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders dropped the team to 5-9.

Los Angeles named Giff Smith interim coach and JoJo Wooden interim general manager. Smith, the Chargers’ outside linebackers coach, has been with the organization since 2016. Wooden, who joined the Chargers in 2013, is the director of player personnel.

Thursday’s defeat, the fifth in six games, ensured Los Angeles would finish with a losing record for the first time in Staley’s three seasons. He leaves the Chargers with a 24-24 record, one playoff appearance and no postseason wins.

Telesco had been the Chargers’ general manager since 2013. Los Angeles was 84-92 over that span, with three playoff appearances in 11 seasons.

“These decisions are never easy, nor are they something I take lightly — especially when you consider the number of people they impact,” Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “We are clearly not where we expect to be, however, and we need new vision. Doing nothing in the name of continuity was not a risk I was willing to take.”

Los Angeles also fired defensive run game coordinator/defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, who had been with the team since Staley’s first season.

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— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 15, 2023

The Chargers entered this season aiming to take a step forward after giving quarterback Justin Herbert a five-year, $262.5 million contract extension in July. But after starting the season with losses to the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans, they were never better than .500 at any point. The Chargers fell to last in the AFC West with Thursday’s loss, with a defense that ranks 29th in the league in yards per game allowed (375.3).

Staley operated as Los Angeles’ defensive play caller. After a Week 11 loss to the Green Bay Packers — which saw quarterback Jordan Love log his first career 300-yard game and the Chargers defense commit a pass interference penalty on third-and-20 — Staley was asked if he would give up that duty. He replied no and asked media members to “stop asking that question.”

“I have full confidence in our way of playing,” he said, “Full confidence in myself as the play caller and the way that we teach and the way that we scheme.”

The team was 5-7 when Herbert suffered a season-ending finger injury in a Week 14 loss to the Broncos. In their first full game without Herbert on Thursday, the Chargers fell behind 42-0 in the first half as the Raiders scored touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions.

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When asked why he should continue leading Los Angeles, Staley said, “I know what I’ve done here for three years.”

“I know what I’ve put into this, and I know where we’re capable of going,” he said Thursday. “I know the type of coach that I am. I believe in myself. But again, this isn’t about me. This is about a group that’s hurting in there. We got to get some rest, and we got to get ready for Buffalo.”

Staley guided Los Angeles to nine wins in his first season in 2021, following it up with a 10-7 campaign and a playoff appearance in 2022. In their only playoff game under Staley, though, the Chargers jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the second quarter over the Jacksonville Jaguars before being outscored 31-3 over the final two-plus quarters to lose 31-30.

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Following that playoff loss, the team announced that Staley would return for a third season, but the Chargers made changes to the staff, including firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shane Day.

Those moves didn’t translate to wins, as both the offense and defense lag behind last season’s rankings for points and yards per game.

The Chargers are the third team to make an in-season coaching change this year. The Raiders fired Josh McDaniels on Nov. 1, and the Carolina Panthers fired Frank Reich on Nov. 27.

What’s next?

The Chargers must find a coach ready for the moment, ready for what this immense job requires — all of it. What 63-21 showed in glaring light is that Staley is not there yet.

“We didn’t show up ready to play today,” safety Derwin James Jr. said.

That falls on the coach.

After the game, Staley said he took “full responsibility” for the performance.

In the locker room, reality was already setting in for the Chargers.

Blank stares. Wide eyes. Heavy sighs.

Bearing the weight of a season gone so horribly, horribly awry, and reckoning with the inevitable repercussions that came Friday.

Why the Chargers moved on from Telesco

The Chargers are 5-9. They have won double-digit games in just three of the last 16 seasons. They have not been to a conference title game since 2007. They have never won a Super Bowl. They have had three playoff appearances since 2010. They have two postseason wins since Telesco took over as general manager in 2013.

Becoming something more as an organization requires tough decisions.

It had to start with a new general manager. A different vision. A break in the status quo that developed over Telesco’s decade-plus with the team. Telesco is a fine talent evaluator. He might become a successful GM elsewhere if given another opportunity. But this whole operation has become stale. The results are the results.

Required reading

(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)