National Football League

Why the Chargers need to move on from Brandon Staley now

Published Nov. 13, 2023 6:06 p.m. ET

On paper, the Los Angeles Chargers possess perhaps the most talent in the NFL.

There are Pro Bowl players at multiple positions on both sides of the ball, while their flame-throwing quarterback is among the best young signal-callers in football. But their losing record does little to show for the dearth of playmakers they have.

The Chargers are now 4-5 after losing to Detroit in a back-and-forth thriller Sunday. And while Justin Herbert threw for 323 yards and four TDs in the loss, their defense surrendered over 500 yards, including 116 to David Montgomery, 77 to Jahmyr Gibbs and over 300 to Jared Goff through the air.

In Colin Cowherd's eyes, the less means it's time for the Bolts to part ways with their head coach, Brandon Staley.

"It is time for the Chargers to fire Brandon Staley," he said Monday on "The Herd."

"Anything Detroit wanted to do, they did. That's despite the fact the GM drafted another elite pass-rusher [Tuli Tuipulotu]. They have three pass-rushers. I could argue only the Niners have more talent in pass-rushing than the Chargers. They couldn't stop the run in the first half. They couldn't stop the pass in the second half."

Cowherd asserted that the team's losing record is shameful given its roster.

"The Chargers are 4-5 with this left tackle, this quarterback, Keenan Allen. Three pass-rushers? Folks, they checked the boxes. You can't be 4-5. They couldn't stop the run, they looked totally ill-equipped in the first half to stop the run. Brandon Staley said at half ‘we didn’t bring the energy.' You gonna blame Justin Herbert for that? And the second half he's like ‘well the defense didn’t get better.' … And then the second half they couldn't stop anything.

"I got news for you: Justin Herbert's not the issue. The offense had five touchdowns on its last five drives and lost. That's about the defensive head coach. At least now he's acknowledging he's at fault. What are you waiting for? … At some point, come on. I know it's hard to win. … This is a mess. … Third down defense, bad. Fourth down defense, bad. Red zone defense. Bad. … We laugh at the Raiders, we roll our eyes at the Broncos. … Go look at the standings."

Staley signed a four-year deal worth approximately $4 million per year in 2021.

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