Former NFL star pass-rusher Shawne Merriman pinpointed the moment when he knew the Los Angeles Chargers would fire head coach Brandon Staley earlier this year and it was before the blowout loss against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Merriman appeared on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” and broke down Staley’s tenure with the Chargers. Staley was 24-24 in just over two seasons as the Chargers head coach. He led the team to one playoff appearance but couldn’t get the 2023 season turned around.
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Head coach Brandon Staley of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on before playing against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
He told Dakich he knew the Chargers hired him because he was a “good interviewer” and his talks with him made him want to “run through a wall.” But as Staley clashed with the media this season, Merriman knew his time was coming to an end.
“I don’t fault the Chargers at all for hiring Brandon Staley because he’s a great interviewer,” he said. “What I do say that I fault anybody for is hanging on with him too long and seeing if he was gonna turn around when he showed no path of change. He even got to the point where toward the end of his coaching there he was firing back off at the media for asking very normal questions … when I saw he couldn’t handle himself in the media when shots were being thrown at him, I knew he wasn’t the guy for the job.
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Shawne Merriman attends the “Players Party” co-hosted by Michael Rubin, MLBPA and Fanatics at City Market Social House on July 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Fanatics)
“You have to, as a head coach, you have to learn how to bite the bullet. And you’re not gonna want to answer those questions in front of the media all the time. You’re not gonna wanna jump out there. You have to learn how to be in that position. Once I saw he wasn’t capable of answering those questions without firing back off at the media, I knew right then and there he wasn’t going to be there.”
Los Angeles fired Staley and general manager Tom Telesco after the team lost to the Raiders 61-23.
Giff Smith was named the interim head coach. In his debut, the Chargers were forced to start Easton Stick in place of an injured Justin Herbert and the team lost to the Buffalo Bills 24-23.
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley watches from the sideline during the second half against the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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In Week 17, the Chargers will hit the road to take on the Denver Broncos.
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