ChiefsPlanet - Football Why a disconnected Chargers team was Brandon Staley's downfall

lol what a goober

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-players-speak

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Staley had the upper hand on Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, outscheming the ex-Eagles' Super Bowl winner and rendering the EverBank Stadium crowd stone silent. Staley, who called the defensive plays, watched as his defense forced four turnovers in the first 30 minutes.

Then it all fell apart.

Los Angeles' offense, powered by Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert, stalled. Staley's defense, previously so opportunistic, had no answers for Trevor Lawrence and the Jags. As the unit collapsed, Staley could be heard screaming at linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite. Staley believed Wilhoite's group had made an error on a big Jacksonville play. Wilhoite countered that Staley had made a "dumbass playcall" and that the linebackers had done their job, according to team sources who witnessed the sideline exchange.

The Jaguars would defeat the Chargers 31-30 in what was the third-largest comeback in playoff history. It was the latest chapter in a book full of disappointments by this Chargers franchise.

When Staley entered the locker room -- facing a grieving team in disbelief -- he told them, in part, "games like this happen in the NFL." The message annoyed some players, especially those who had played on other teams and experienced postseason success. To some, it felt like Staley was shifting ownership of the collapse off the squad -- and himself -- as a regular occurrence, team sources said.

One team source described the Jacksonville game as reflective of Staley's lack of accountability -- and the moment he began to lose players -- pointing to the screaming match with Wilhoite, who was subsequently fired.

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When Staley stood before the team in the visitor's locker room at Allegiant Stadium, there was an element of déjà vu. A team source said Staley repeated the "games like these happen in the NFL" line, a message he later repeated to the media.

This time, the Spanos family would not spare Staley, firing him and general manager Tom Telesco the next morning. It was the first time the organization had parted ways with a coach during the season since it dismissed Kevin Gilbride in 1998.

"At a certain point with him it just felt like words didn't matter," one team source said.

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Staley alienated some players, according to team sources. For a few, birthday announcements were a clear indication of where they stood.

In a team meeting on Nov. 16, Staley projected birthday graphics for linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., defensive tackle Jerrod Clark and guard Jordan McFadden on a video screen, but only said happy birthday to Murray in the meeting, according to a team source who was present. After practice two days later, Staley said happy birthday to offensive guard Zion Johnson in front of the team. Multiple players mentioned that it was also rookie linebacker Daiyan Henley's birthday, to which Staley replied, "and Daiyan, too," in a dismissive way, before quickly wrapping up practice, according to team sources.

"Guys didn't feel included; he didn't make it feel like a team," one team source said of Staley. "He kind of made it feel like a fraternity house. Certain guys are in the frat, certain guys aren't."

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Then came last Thursday's rout, which would be Staley's final.

The Raiders scored six first-half touchdowns, including four passing scores by rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell -- who had thrown four touchdowns in the previous seven games combined.

No one in the organization expected that kind of beatdown, but in the days leading up to it, the team felt off, according to one team source.

"You could tell," another team source said of the loss of support in Staley. "No one was laughing at [Staley's] jokes in team meetings anymore. That's how you know. A couple years ago, people were laughing, now, it was like no one was laughing."

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Ahead of the 2023 season, the Chargers restructured the contracts of receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, along with Mack and fellow outside linebacker Joey Bosa, to free up cap space, but in turn making their 2024 cap hits each above $30 million.

Allen and Mack are both having career-best seasons, but the 31-year-old Allen is due $18.1 million next season, while the 32-year-old Mack is due $17.5 million. Bosa and Williams, who have played a combined 12 games this season, are under contracts that total $32 million next year.