Many have pointed to the Chargers as a team which could shake up its staff on the sidelines and/or in the front office. While pressure is likely on Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco, the pair should be considered safe for the immediate future. 
No in-season changes are expected to be made by the Chargers, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports (video link). Staley in particular is believed to be on the hot seat, barring a signficant turnaround to close out the 2023 campaign. Los Angeles entered Week 13 sitting at 4-7 and in need of a late-season push to get back into contention for an AFC wild-card spot. In the event that does not come to fruition, it would come as little surprise if a change were to be made.
As Jones notes, though, a final decision on the fate of Staley or Telesco will likely not be made until after owner Dean Spanos conducts an offseason evaluation. Staley is in his third season at the helm, but once again the Chargers have drawn criticism for their on-field play not matching the talent on their roster. He has served as the team’s defensive play-caller, allowing him to continue in that capacity after doing so during his time as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. The unit has generally struggled (today’s 6-0 win over the Patriots notwithstanding), however, which has contributed to an underwhelming overall performance in what may have deemed a make-or-break year.
Staley’s Chargers stint has been marked by last year’s 27-point collapse in the wild-card round, a game which represented a rare trek to the postseason for the organization during Telesco’s tenure. The latter has been in place since 2013, but the Chargers have made just three postseason appearances over that span. Only two playoff wins (in 2013 and ’18) have come about, but the presence of quarterback Justin Herbert has given the team significant potential for the short- and long-term future.
The former No. 6 pick was one of several young passers who inked a monster extension this offseason. Herbert’s five-year, $262.5MM deal has him on the books through 2029 and his play over the life of the pact will be a major factor in the Chargers’ success. If the team falls short of the postseason and a coaching change is indeed made, a number of candidates will no doubt be connected to the opening. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson could be one of them, though he is expected to be one of the hottest coaching candidates in the 2024 cycle.
In any event, plenty of pressure will likely be on Staley and Telesco over the coming weeks. Their respective job statuses will be a major storyline to watch through the remainder of the season and into the beginning of the upcoming hiring cycle.
Can’t see Staley surviving unless they sneak in and actually win a playoff game.
Staley is the worst coach in the NFL and is ruining Justin Herbert’s career.
As bad as Reich?
I woukd take Reich over Staley
Staley is a Ballon Head
If chargers make deep playoff run he might get another year lmao
At some point, Justin has to put the team on his back to be considered great. He chokes a lot.
Both choke imo
Well, Herbert gets an awful a lot of passes blocked considering he is 6 foot 6
He also throws 50 yard dimes at the drop of a hat.
So did Minshew yesterday. What’s your point?
What’s yours? Minshew isn’t getting a bag as a franchise passer. Herbert is
That’s my point. Minshew does the exact same thing as Herbert for a fraction of the price. Justin is overrated. Funny how we don’t hear the couple year old argument that the Fins made a mistake taking Tua before him these days.
Minshew has a 20-24 record. And Herbert’s is 30-31. Not much a of a difference, except salary. That’s my point.
But then why is Minshew on his third team in his 5th year as a pro and why is Herbert one of the highest paid QBs on the same team he was drafted by in his 4th year as a pro? We can pretend it’s the same thing but it’s obviously not. With a competent coach and healthy WR core Chargers can be a 11-6 team. We all have seen Minshew ceiling. And I like Minshew but come on
I go by stats, not by man crush. Herbert is a .500 QB. His record says so. No different than me ragging Bill B. He’s a sub .500 w/o Tom and that’s over a 9 season time frame.
And to your point, Minshew wins in many different schemes and players, Herbert has had the same system & talent and what???
Both are around .500.
You just tainted the validity of your argument. Man crush is hilarious I’m not even a chargers fan and I can also name 10 QBs better than Herbert right now but none of them are Minshew. That’s hilarious though. Trying to have a respectful debate you just lost all my respect. And Herbert is in at least his third new system and second head coach. He also put up big numbers his rookie year and last year hence his contract. Stats don’t tell the story of horrible game management and piss poor coaching.
30-31 that’s his record. That means average. Everyone that loves a player already has the same built in excuses to cover for them:
‘Too many different systems, bad coach, bad teammates, weak ownership/FO and/or coaching staff. etc’
It’s never your hero’s fault. I understood that position when I was in middle school, not at 50.
This is year 4 in the league. I’m not calling him out after 10-15 games, but years of proof.
Enjoy watching and defending Herbert’s average career.
I thought you were smarter than this. Shocked to hear you’re 50. Whatever you say brother lmao
Where’s your proof Justin is great? Simple question.
I never said he was great. I think you lost track on my original point lol
Staley is not the worse coach in the NFL, please refer to Frank Reich and Josh McHoodie.
The Chargers are not even last in their own division, and they have only lost two games by more than three points. They still have four division games left and winning three is not out of the question. The Chargers could easily finish the season 4-1.
No Staley is worse than Reich.. look what Reich had to work with compared to Staley. You put Reich in charge of the Chargers and I’m sure he’d do a lot better job than Staley.
Whether he’s the worst or not is up for debate. Either way he stinks.
The Chargers ownership is notoriously cheap – thus you should not expect them to make a change until absolutely the last moment.
Right until all the best candidates are taken
The disingenuous Chargers ownership is the source stench of failure that always permeates and overwhelms the team. The Spanos family is a bunch of trust fund morons. Karma prevails.
Maybe the Chargers would be interested in making a trade with the Steelers, for the most overrated coach in the NFL
Not a Tomlin or Steelers fan, but that is absurd. He’d win a lot more games with a better QB than Can’t Flick It Pickett.
“We enjoy suking !”