Brandon Staley loses cool with reporter after Chargers’ loss
Sep 25, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley watches game action against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley lost his cool with reporters on Sunday following his team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Staley was irritated after a reporter asked about the Chargers’ much-maligned defense and whether Staley might consider giving up play-calling duties. That clearly irked Staley.
Los Angeles Chargers head coach, Brandon Staley, blasting a reporter regarding his defense calls.
Chargers social media deleted the live video shortly after. pic.twitter.com/GtX26KSrSY— Sport Fan (@SuperChargeBolt) November 19, 2023
“You can stop asking that question,” Staley said sharply. “I’m going to be calling the defenses, so we’re clear. So you don’t have to ask that again.”
Staley was not finished there. Further along in the press conference, he seemed irritated that the media did not credit the team for making defensive improvements.
“You guys act like we’ve never played good defense. That’s not the truth. You act like we haven’t made any improvements,” Staley said, raising his voice. “Today, in the run game, we played outstanding. We’re rushing the quarterback well. What we’ve got to do a better job of is in the passing game, and that’s where our full attention is and where it will continue to be.
“There were a lot of other things that caused us to lose today. It certainly wasn’t our defense. It was the way we played as a team. We didn’t play well enough on the red zone on offense. We dropped too many passes. We gave up a few killer sacks. We did this as a team. Stop making it about one unit, because that’s not what happened out there today.”
On one hand, Staley is correct that there were plenty of other problems beyond the Chargers’ defense. On the other hand, while his defense did limit the Packers to 23 points, they gave up 397 yards of total offense to a team that came into the game averaging slightly more than 300 yards per game.
Even Chargers players have seemingly had critiques of Staley’s defensive schemes this year. He is under increasing pressure, and if the team does not turn things around quickly, it is hard to see him keeping his job.