Do the Los Angeles Chargers have the youngest head coach in the NFL?
Brandon Staley has sported gray facial hairs before, so he isn’t young by virtue of that coloring. However, he is one of the younger coaches in the league.
Brandon Staley’s Age and Trek to Coaching
Staley has already hit 40. That makes him one of the youngest coaches in the league, but not the youngest.
Sean McVay currently has the title of youngest head coach at 37. Meanwhile, Kevin O’Connell and Shane Steichen are a pair of 38-year-old coaches. And, first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans is the league’s lone 39-year-old.
Born in 1982, he’s two weeks away from his 41st birthday. He was born on December 10 in Perry, Ohio.
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His love for football came at a young age. But while he’s considered a defensive guru, he was really an offensive guy to start.
He played quarterback for Perry High and then later the University of Dayton. He navigated the Flyers to a 16-5 mark as a starter from 2003 to 2004. He later finished his collegiate career at Mercyhurst College in 2005.
Staley never pursued an NFL opportunity after his playing career. Instead, before he turned 24, he dove straight into coaching.
Staley’s Coaching Stops Before the NFL
Staley started off as a graduate assistant for Northern Illinois in 2006.
He went on to help the Huskies for three seasons before getting his first coaching opportunity at the NCAA Division III ranks. He coached at St. Thomas University in Minnesota where he began as the defensive line and special teams coach.
It didn’t take long for Staley to earn his first defensive coordinator opportunity. He earned his first through the junior college ranks at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas in 2010. He spent one more season there before accepting a grad assistant role at the University of Tennessee.
But after a year in Knoxville, Tenn., Staley returned to Division III by accepting the defensive coordinator job at John Carroll University, best known as the alma mater of coaching legend Don Shula, Super Bowl-winning linebacker London Fletcher, and former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
Following a stop at James Madison University and one more stint at John Carroll, Staley decided to take the leap to the NFL in 2017.
Where Has Staley Coached in the League?
The Chicago Bears handed Staley his NFL elevation by naming him outside linebackers coach in 2017. Despite the 5-11 season, Staley was part of a Bears defense that ranked 10th in yards allowed. The next season, Chicago rose to third with Staley in his same role.
He made one more OLB coaching stop in 2019 — with the Denver Broncos when Vic Fangio was the head coach. Then in 2020, the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay handed him his first league DC role.
Staley would go on and produce the NFL’s best unit in surrendering the fewest points and yards. That became enough to convince the Chargers to offer him their head coaching position.
But now, Staley’s job status is getting increasingly turbulent. He’s only 23-21 as a head coach and is yet to win a playoff game. And, his Chargers are facing a 4-7 mark ahead of their huge, crucial, Sunday Night Football showdown with the Baltimore Ravens.
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