Brandon Staley

Brandon Staley
San Francisco 49ers
Position:Assistant head coach
Personal information
Born: (1982-12-10) December 10, 1982 (age 41)
Perry, Ohio, U.S.
Career information
High school:Perry
College:Dayton, Mercyhurst
Career history
As a coach:
Head coaching record
Regular season:24–24 (.500)
Postseason:0–1 (.000)
Career:24–25 (.490)
Record at Pro Football Reference

Brandon John Staley[1] (born December 10, 1982) is an American football coach who is the assistant head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021 to 2023, defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, and also served as an assistant coach for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears.[2][3]

Playing career

Staley went to the University of Dayton and started two years at quarterback for the Flyers guiding the team to a 16–5 record from 2003 to 2004.[4] He finished his playing career at Mercyhurst College, playing on the football team in 2005.[5]

Coaching career

College

Brandon began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois from 2006 to 2008 before working with defensive linemen and special teams at Division III St. Thomas (Minnesota) in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 Staley served as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College (Kansas). He spent the 2012 season at Tennessee as a graduate assistant. Staley would then spend three seasons (2013, 2015, 2016) as the defensive coordinator/secondary coach with John Carroll University (Ohio).[6] He spent 2014 as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at James Madison University (Virginia).[7]

Chicago Bears

In 2017, Staley was hired by the Chicago Bears as their outside linebackers coach.[8]

Denver Broncos

On January 15, 2019, Staley was hired by the Denver Broncos as their outside linebackers coach, reuniting with then head coach Vic Fangio.[9]

Los Angeles Rams

On January 16, 2020, Staley was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as their defensive coordinator, replacing Wade Phillips.[10][11] In his only year as coordinator in 2020, Staley helped guide the Rams defense to 1st in points and total yards allowed, positioning himself as an attractive head coaching candidate around the league.[12]

Los Angeles Chargers

On January 17, 2021, Staley was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers[13] to replace Anthony Lynn.

On September 12, 2021, Staley made his regular-season head coaching debut against the Washington Football Team and led the Chargers to a 20–16 victory.[citation needed]

Staley led the Chargers to a 9–7 record through the first 16 games of the season. However, against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18 in a win or tie or go home situation, Staley came under scrutiny for two decisions during the game. The first involved a failed fourth down conversion on the Chargers' own 18-yard line, giving the Raiders a short field, which they would score on to extend their lead to six. The second was calling a timeout with 38 seconds left in the overtime period with the Raiders at the Chargers' 39-yard line. Staley claimed he called the timeout to get the right defensive personnel on the field as the Raiders were running the ball.[14] Following the game there was conjecture that the timeout proved to be costly for the Chargers as the Raiders kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired, winning 35–32, and eliminating the Chargers from playoff contention.[15][16] However, when discussing the moment on a podcast, Raiders' interim head coach at that time Rich Bisaccia stated that "the timeout was really irrelevant".[17]

In the 2022 season, Staley led the Chargers to a 10–7 record, finishing in second place in the AFC West. The Chargers finished as the AFC's 5th seed and played the 4th seed 9–8 Jacksonville Jaguars on January 14, 2023, in the AFC Wild Card round. The Chargers roared out to a 27–0 lead, but the Jaguars came back to win the game 31–30 with a field goal as time expired. It was the third-largest comeback in NFL playoff history.[18]

After a 5–9 start to the 2023 season and losing 63–21 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football,[19] Staley was fired on December 15, 2023.[20] The Chargers-Raiders game set a Chargers franchise record for most points allowed in a single game, along with a Raiders franchise record for most points scored in a single game (doing so just four days after playing in one of the lowest-scoring NFL games in league history, in a 3–0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings).[21]

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
LAC 2021 9 8 0 .529 3rd in AFC West — — — —
LAC 2022 10 7 0 .588 2nd in AFC West 0 1 .000 Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild Card Game
LAC 2023 5 9 0 .357 (Fired) — — — —
Total 24 24 0 .500 0 1 .000

Personal life

At age 24 in 2006, Staley was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, but has been cancer-free for over a decade following chemotherapy at the Cleveland Clinic.[22]

Staley married Amy Ward in 2011.[1] They have three children.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ward-Staley engagement". The News-Herald. Willoughby, Ohio. June 19, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Brandon Staley". Denverbroncos.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "Broncos hire Brandon Staley as outside linebackers coach". Broncoswire.usatoday.com. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "5 Things to Know: Brandon Staley". Los Angeles Chargers. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Brandon Staley". Los Angeles Chargers. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Brandon Staley – Football Coach". John Carroll University Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Brandon Staley – Football Coach". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  8. ^ "Broncos hire Bears OLB coach Brandon Staley". Denver Broncos. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Bears OLB coach Staley follows Fangio to Broncos". NBC Sports Chicago. January 15, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "Sean McVay makes bold bet on unproven defensive coordinator Brandon Staley". ESPN.com. January 14, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Hammond, Rich. "Insight into new Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley from the coach who hired him three times". The Athletic. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "2020 Los Angeles Rams Statistics and Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  13. ^ Communications, Chargers (January 17, 2021). "Chargers Agree to Terms with Brandon Staley as Head Coach". chargers.com. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  14. ^ Smith, Michael David (January 10, 2022). "Brandon Staley says overtime timeout was to get the right personnel on the field". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Raiders vs. Chargers score: Derek Carr edges Justin Herbert in OT thriller; Vegas claims postseason spot". CBSSports.com. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Selbe, Nick. "Derek Carr Says Chargers' OT Timeout 'Definitely' Changed Raiders' Mindset". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Pardon My Take.
  18. ^ DiRocco, Michael; Thiry, Lindsey (January 14, 2023). "Chargers blow 27-point lead, Jaguars advance in AFC playoffs". ESPN. Jacksonville, Florida. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "Four days after losing 3–0, Raiders set franchise scoring record, beat Chargers 63–21". ESPN.com. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Gordon, Grant. "Chargers fire head coach Brandon Staley, general manager Tom Telesco following blowout loss to Raiders". NFL.com. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  21. ^ "Four days after losing 3–0, Raiders set franchise scoring record, beat Chargers 63–21". AP News. December 15, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  22. ^ Podolski, Mark (November 8, 2016). "Cancer survivor, John Carroll defensive coordinator Brandon Staley inspires his players". news-herald.com. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers". www.chargers.com. Retrieved September 27, 2022.