Breaking news: John Lynch, 49ers GM, said a brilliant assistant Assistant joined the team.
From the Rams to the Chargers to the 49ers, Brandon Staley has had quite a ride
- While there have been many head coaching jobs far worse than Brandon Staley’s with the Los Angeles Chargers, he has been mocked ever since his team lost to the Los Vegas Raiders in December of last year, blowing a 27-7 lead in the playoffs, and he was fired. If not for those two defeats, Justin Herbert’s injury, or perhaps superior work by previous general manager Tom Telesco, we might still be discussing Staley’s tenure as Chargers head coach.
He isn’t the defensive coordinator or head coach anymore.
The San Francisco 49ers’ general manager, John Lynch, informed SI’s Grant Cohn that Staley was brought on as an assistant head coach after being passed over by every team that had a head coaching or defensive coordinator vacancy.
In the end, we just wanted to return to our identity as a defense and our playing philosophy. Nick Sorensen had a terrific idea about how we could accomplish it, but you also want to continuously change, like we did in the early days of the Wide 9. Can we use the Wide 9 and still maintain the integrity of our defense, as Kyle mentioned that he used to get upset when he coached against it? And we succeeded in doing so. I believe that Brandon allows us to keep developing our identities and our activities while maintaining our integrity. Kyle and I talked a lot and appreciated Brandon’s intellect for the game. He’s a pretty smart guy. He’s highly respected in our league. Having a guy with a head coach mentality means that he is astute even during the free agent meetings related to personnel. courteous, tends to keep quiet unless prompted, and then offers some insightful insights and ideas. He’s a terrific addition, in my opinion, and the defensive staff is clicking quite well together. Although we still need to bring everything together, I believe Brandon was a good addition to our facility.
After interviewing Staley for the open defensive coordinator position, the 49ers decided to promote Nick Sorensen from inside. Staley accepted the Niners’ continued desire for him to join the team because he was aware of no other offers. Staley is still in a position that might help him reenter the recruiting market as a head coach or defensive coordinator in the future, so it’s not the worst thing.
The fact that no one showed any interest in him being a defensive coordinator remains fascinating.
Staley has now worked at the collegiate level for 11 years, having attended the prestigious John Carroll Coaching School. After that, he worked for Vic Fangio, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan.
Following the Falcons’ hiring of Raheem Morris, the Rams likewise made the internal promotion decision, selecting Chris Shula. Staley had remained in the same city the last time. He’s in the same division as before.
