Brandon Staley is Not a Good Coach
In week five of this young NFL season, one thing has been made apparent, Brandon Staley is not a good head coach. The Los Angeles Chargers may have a winning record, sitting at 3-2 but don’t let that confuse you.
Facing the Cleveland Browns in week five, the Chargers were up by two points with 2:55 left in the game. The Browns were on the Chargers nine-yard-line, looking poised to score a touchdown and take the lead, until Jacoby Brissett threw an interception giving the Chargers the ball back. The Chargers could have simply run the clock out and won the game. However, the Browns had three timeouts, and the two-minute warning working in their favor.
The Chargers would go on to work the ball up to their own 46-yard-line, until they faced a fourth and one. They could have easily punted the ball deep into Brown’s territory and forced them to go on a lengthy game winning drive with less than a minute on the clock. Instead, Brandon Staley decided to go for it. Not only did he go for it, but he called a passing play on a fourth and one, in a game where Austin Ekeler had a career high 173 rushing yards.
This pass was incomplete, and the Browns were set up in a position where they only needed one first down to be in Cade York’s field goal range. It would take two plays for the Browns to be at the Chargers 35-yard-line, setting up York for a 54-yard game winning field goal, which he would miss. Allowing for a 30-28 Chargers victory.
Cade York missing the game winning field goal.
Image via USA Today Sports.
At the end of day Brandon Staley got extremely lucky that the Browns are the Browns. Winning this game off pure luck is no excuse for the decision to go for it on the fourth down play that late in the game.
It’s not just this decision either, Staley has a history of holding his team back. Look no further than week three of this season, his squad lost 38-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Having as much talent as the Chargers do, this must be an unacceptable loss.
Justin Herbert is a generational talent, to have a coach who wastes his talent with horrific decisions may play a part in his legacy. The season is still early, but decisions like these could cost them a playoff spot, with one of the league’s most explosive rosters.
Similar to Cincinnati, the Chargers have an abundance of talent being wasted by a low-quality head coach. Sure, Staley can maintain an elite defense, but his decision making is very subpar. The Chargers had high expectations entering this season, but a slow start has eased this talk, and Brandon Staley has something to do with this.