The Los Angeles Chargers recently fired head coach Brandon Staley after the team was embarrassed by division rival Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football. The Chargers were manhandled on prime time in the 63-21 loss, and it was a game that wasn’t even as close as the game suggests.
The beatdown was the final straw in what felt like an inevitable move in the making for the franchise, and as the Chargers look ahead for the remainder of the 2023 season, they will do so without their head coach still in place. With the changing of the guard, how much does the team still owe Staley over the next few years?
Brandon Staley’s Salary
While Staley’s contract is not confirmed, it is reported that he was given a four-year contract worth roughly $4 million per year. Staley was just let go in the third year of that deal, meaning the team would be on the hook for the prorated remainder of his 2023 owed salary, plus the reported $4 million he was due for next season.
Talks of Staley and his potential demise in Los Angeles only grew louder with time, and as the team was thoroughly embarrassed on national television against a division rival playing a rookie quarterback with an interim head coach, it was the final straw in a move that was in the making for quite some time.
With the move, the Chargers will now make their third head-coaching change since the end of the 2016 season.
Rough Tenure for Brandon Staley
Staley finished his 2023 campaign with a record of 5-9 and had a 24-24 record during his tenure with the Chargers. Despite the perceived talent all around the franchise, including the likes of young budding star quarterback Justin Herbert and veteran playmakers such as wide receiver Keenan Allen and running back Austin Ekeler, Staley reached the postseason just once in three years.
It has been more of the same for a Chargers franchise that just has not quite figured it out over the last decade. Over the last 10 seasons, the Chargers have only made the playoffs three times. In addition, they have not won a division title since 2009 or made it to a conference championship game since 2007.
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The in-season move to get rid of Staley was the first time the franchise opted to do so since the 1998 season, when they fired Kevin Gilbride after just six games.
The Chargers will now turn their attention to the future and will do so hoping that this time it is the right man for the job.
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