https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735707853514805417

Daniel Popper
@danielrpopper
#Chargers are firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco, per source.
9:06 AM · Dec 15, 2023

On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 9:24:48 AM UTC-8, phlash74 wrote:
> https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735707853514805417
>
> Daniel Popper
> @danielrpopper
> #Chargers are firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco, per source.
> 9:06 AM · Dec 15, 2023

Update: https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735709440387715553

Daniel Popper
@danielrpopper
#Chargers say an interim head coach and GM will be "announced within short order."
9:12 AM · Dec 15, 2023

phlash74 wrote:
> On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 9:24:48 AM UTC-8, phlash74 wrote:
>> https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735707853514805417
>>
>> Daniel Popper
>> @danielrpopper
>> #Chargers are firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco, per source.
>> 9:06 AM · Dec 15, 2023
>
> Update: https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735709440387715553
>
> Daniel Popper
> @danielrpopper
> #Chargers say an interim head coach and GM will be "announced within short order."
> 9:12 AM · Dec 15, 2023
>

And his story from The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/5077858/2023/12/15/chargers-brandon-staley-tom-telesco-fired/

Chargers fire coach Brandon Staley, GM Tom Telesco after blowout loss to
Raiders

By Daniel Popper
2h ago

The Los Angeles Chargers have fired coach Brandon Staley and general
manager Tom Telesco, one day after a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders
dropped the team to 5-9.

The defeat, the fifth in six games, ensured Los Angeles would finish
with a losing record for the first time in Staley’s three seasons. He
leaves the Chargers with a 24-24 record, one playoff appearance and no
postseason wins.

Telesco had been the Chargers’ general manager since 2013. Los Angeles
was 84-92 over that span, with three playoff appearances in 11 seasons.

“These decisions are never easy, nor are they something I take lightly —
especially when you consider the number of people they impact,” Chargers
owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “We are clearly not where we
expect to be, however, and we need new vision. Doing nothing in the name
of continuity was not a risk I was willing to take.”

An interim coach and general manager will be announced “within short
order,” the Chargers said.

The Chargers entered this season aiming to take a step forward after
giving quarterback Justin Herbert a five-year, $262.5 million contract
extension in July. But after starting the season with losses to the
Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans, they were never better than .500 at
any point. The Chargers fell to last in the AFC West with Thursday’s
loss, with a defense that ranks 29th in the league in yards per game
allowed (375.3).

Staley operated as Los Angeles’ defensive play caller. After a Week 11
loss to the Green Bay Packers — which saw quarterback Jordan Love log
his first career 300-yard game and the Chargers defense commit a pass
interference penalty on third-and-20 — Staley was asked if he would give
up that duty. He replied no and asked media members to “stop asking that
question.”

“I have full confidence in our way of playing,” he said, “Full
confidence in myself as the play caller and the way that we teach and
the way that we scheme.”

The team was 5-7 when Herbert suffered a season-ending finger injury in
a Week 14 loss to the Broncos. In their first full game without Herbert
on Thursday, the Chargers fell behind 42-0 in the first half as the
Raiders scored touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions.

When asked why he should continue leading Los Angeles, Staley said, “I
know what I’ve done here for three years.”

“I know what I’ve put into this, and I know where we’re capable of
going,” he said Thursday. “I know the type of coach that I am. I believe
in myself. But again, this isn’t about me. This is about a group that’s
hurting in there. We got to get some rest, and we got to get ready for
Buffalo.”

Staley guided Los Angeles to nine wins in his first season in 2021,
following it up with a 10-7 campaign and a playoff appearance in 2022.
In their only playoff game under Staley, though, the Chargers jumped out
to a 27-0 lead in the second quarter over the Jacksonville Jaguars
before being outscored 31-3 over the final two-plus quarters to lose 31-30.

Following that playoff loss, the team announced that Staley would return
for a third season, but the Chargers made changes to the staff,
including firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and passing game
coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shane Day.

Those moves didn’t translate to wins, as both the offense and defense
lag behind last season’s rankings for points and yards per game.

The Chargers are the third team to make an in-season coaching change
this year. The Raiders fired Josh McDaniels on Nov. 1, and the Carolina
Panthers fired Frank Reich on Nov. 27.

What’s next?

The Chargers must find a coach ready for the moment, ready for what this
immense job requires — all of it. What 63-21 showed in glaring light is
that Staley is not there yet.

“We didn’t show up ready to play today,” safety Derwin James Jr. said.

That falls on the coach.

After the game, Staley said he took “full responsibility” for the
performance.

In the locker room, reality was already setting in for the Chargers.

Blank stares. Wide eyes. Heavy sighs.

Bearing the weight of a season gone so horribly, horribly awry, and
reckoning with the inevitable repercussions that came Friday.

Why the Chargers moved on from Telesco

The Chargers are 5-9. They have won double-digit games in just three of
the last 16 seasons. They have not been to a conference title game since
2007. They have never won a Super Bowl. They have had three playoff
appearances since 2010. They have two postseason wins since Telesco took
over as general manager in 2013.

Becoming something more as an organization requires tough decisions.

It had to start with a new general manager. A different vision. A break
in the status quo that developed over Telesco’s decade-plus with the
team. Telesco is a fine talent evaluator. He might become a successful
GM elsewhere if given another opportunity. But this whole operation has
become stale. The results are the results.

On 15 Dec 2023, Robin Miller <robin.miller@invalid.invalid> posted some
news:ku3lbcF1jrtU1@mid.individual.net:

> phlash74 wrote:
>> On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 9:24:48 AM UTC-8, phlash74 wrote:
>>> https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735707853514805417
>>>
>>> Daniel Popper
>>> @danielrpopper
>>> #Chargers are firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager
>>> Tom Telesco, per source. 9:06 AM · Dec 15, 2023
>>
>> Update: https://twitter.com/danielrpopper/status/1735709440387715553
>>
>> Daniel Popper
>> @danielrpopper
>> #Chargers say an interim head coach and GM will be "announced within
>> short order." 9:12 AM · Dec 15, 2023
>>
>
>
> And his story from The Athletic:
>
> https://theathletic.com/5077858/2023/12/15/chargers-brandon-staley-tom-
> telesco-fired/
>
> Chargers fire coach Brandon Staley, GM Tom Telesco after blowout loss
> to Raiders

> It had to start with a new general manager. A different vision. A
> break in the status quo that developed over Telesco’s decade-plus
> with the team. Telesco is a fine talent evaluator. He might become a
> successful GM elsewhere if given another opportunity. But this whole
> operation has become stale. The results are the results.

I felt bad for 10 seconds that they got fired, then after adding up all
the seconds spent watching and hoping that the team would achieve better,
I thought, "Nah!"

A new day begins.