thelesterlee
The Los Angeles Chargers suck. You know how I know they suck? They just lost 21-63 to a Las Vegas Raiders team that fired their head coach and played their third-string, 4th-round rookie quarterback.
Sure, the Chargers were without their All-Star QB, Justin Herbert, but this game was all about head coach, Brandon Staley—who often looks like he sleeps in his car. And that’s not a metaphor to describe an intense work ethic where he spends all hours of the night at the team facility combing through film but more so that he looks like his wife caught him in a compromising position with the babysitter and he sleeps in the backseat of his Toyota Camry in the local ShopRite parking lot.
The Chargers fell to 5-9 after Thursday night’s beat down. The 2023 Chargers were not supposed to be 5-9.
Brandon Staley basically lost this job last year when the Chargers lost 30-31 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round after holding a 27-7 halftime lead.
Trevor Lawrence threw 4 interceptions.
Los Angeles found a way to lose.
Meanwhile, Antonio Pierce took the keys from Josh McDaniels after a Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions in which Josh McDaniels—the offensive mastermind behind all of Tom Brady’s success— coached the Raiders to 157 total yards.
His first week as interim head coach, the Raiders blew out the Giants 30-6 and they literally doubled the number of yards from the week prior.
Las Vegas is 3-3 with Pierce leading them and this Thursday night game was the perfect display of what a great coach looks like and whatever it is Brandon Staley is.
The Raiders went into halftime up 42-0. Here’s what Antonio Pierce said the gameplan was for the second half:
Antonio Pierce asked by @KayleeHartung what he told his #Raiders team about the second half: “Press the gas pedal even harder.” 🫣
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 15, 2023
I’m running through a wall for my guy Pierce. Fuck slowing down and good sportsmanship. Nah. This is a divisional game. The Raiders still have a shot at the playoffs. And they could get Brandon Staley fired that night.
Speaking of which, here’s what Staley had to say at halftime:
Amazon interviewed Brandon Staley as the game went to halftime… pic.twitter.com/3D5SpDf076
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 15, 2023
Truly inspiring stuff. I imagine he went to the locker room and everyone just sat quietly waiting for the second half to start. Some guys looking at their car keys wondering if they should sneak off and beat the traffic home.
And would you look at that? As I’m writing this article, we’ve got some breaking news.
The #Chargers are cleaning house after last night’s disaster, firing coach Brandon Staley and long-time GM Tom Telesco, sources say. pic.twitter.com/iaW5kYqCie
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2023
Would you look at god? Brandon Staley is no longer the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers after wasting 2 and a half years of Justin Herbert’s career.
Why didn’t it work out with Brandon Staley?
In 2020, Brandon Staley led the Los Angeles Rams to the No. 1 defense in the NFL.
It feels like we all assume a lot of these younger coaches, specifically the ones who get jobs from Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay’s sidelines are all offensive-minded guys but Brandon Staley got the Chargers job because he was supposed to be a defensive guru.
Outside of Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, no one else on that Rams defense was ultra-talented. No one made the Pro Bowl that year. Staley coached some randoms and made them the best defense in the league.
And there’s your problem, folks.
The Chargers hired a defensive coordinator with no head coaching experience and gave him the Offensive Rookie of the Year at QB. His only experience running a squad prior to being the Rams DC in 2020 was when he was the DC at John Caroll University in 2016.
How was this man going to lead an entire NFL team—not just the defense but the entire roster—with real, Super Bowl expectations when most of his coaching career took place at Division III schools no one’s ever heard of?
Let’s do a quick comparison exercise. Both Brandon Staley and Mike McDaniel were hired in their late 30s.
Mike McDaniel was a Denver Broncos intern in 2005. Outside of a year as the running back coach for a UFL team in 2009, McDaniel had 15 years of experience at various levels inside NFL organizations. Not only was McDaniel around the NFL for a decade-plus but he worked all levels of the organization and with everyone at every level. The manager who worked his way up from the bottom of the company is going to have a better understanding of how to work and inspire people. McDaniel is one of the homies over there in Miami. He gets it.
Brandon Staley spent a couple seasons as a linebacker coach under Vic Fangio, one year as a defensive coordinator and was suddenly given the keys to the Chargers kingdom.
Oh, I can’t forget to add Staley’s implication that he is both an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator at the same time because he’s a former quarterback. He played quarterback at Mercyhurst College in 2005. You know the legendary division II Mercyhurst and their legendary rivalries with Slippery Rock University and California University of Pennsylvania. Shocked that he and Herbert didn’t connect.
What makes Antonio Pierce a better coach?
NFL players aren’t idiots. They know when their coaches are insecure phony weirdos. I was here when Ben McAdoo went from the nerdy X’s and O’s dork to suddenly coming in with slicked-back hair and sunglasses pretending to be confident and hip to the jive.
Brandon Staley comes off like a robot created to make the worst 4th quarter decisions.
Antonio Pierce comes off as a guy who would suit up and run with the punt coverage unit if the NFL allowed it.
This Raiders team sucks but they just murdered a far superior Chargers team based solely on the vibes Antonio Pierce brings to the building.
Yes, scheme and preparation is a massive part of success as an NFL head coach. It’s why Bill Belichick has an advantage over most opponents. But it is crucial to be capable of motivating a room full of 50+ men and keeping all of them on the same page and marching towards the same goal.
I would love to see Pierce coaching guys like Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa and Derwin James and Asante Samuel Jr.
And it feels like the Raiders won’t be bringing Pierce back. Mark Davis seems like the type of cat who wants a big name in there. He’s going to wait and see if he can get Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh. Pierce doesn’t deserve to be left on read while the Raiders find someone more well-known because Mark Davis is a clout-chasing loser.
Antonio Pierce and the energy he brings to a locker room is exactly what this Chargers team needs.
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