A comment on my YouTube channel reminded me that I had a touch a few years ago with the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, Brandon Staley.
It was back in 2014, at JMU, where Staley had just been hired by Everett Withers to serve as defensive coordinator.
Staley was then just 31 years old, moving up from D3 John Carroll University, after serving as a grad assistant at Northern Illinois and Tennessee, with stints at D3 St. Thomas and Hutchinson Community College.
Guy had already paid his dues by the time he got to Harrisonburg.
He’d have more dues to pay.
That year at JMU didn’t work out so well for Staley, who left after the one season, his defense ranking 91st nationally in FCS in 2014, allowing 424.8 yards and 29 points per game.
He ended up back at John Carroll for two more seasons before being hired in 2017 to serve as the outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears, before moving on in 2019 to Denver and then getting another bump up in 2020, when the Los Angeles Rams made him their defensive coordinator.
Staley’s Rams D was ranked #1 in the NFL in 2020, and was the cornerstone of a playoff run for the franchise.
It’s a long way from John Carroll University, certainly – and a longer way from washing out at JMU.
“His coaching journey to this particular moment is inspiring; if not for the sheer perseverance and determination of it all, then certainly for the dramatic results it has produced for the teams and players he has coached,” Chargers President of Football Operations John Spanos said in a statement.
“I know it’s cliché, but I know Brandon quite literally cannot wait to get to work. I also know we cannot be more excited to have him as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers,” Spanos said.
Story by Chris Graham
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