RM: The first part of the article:

https://theathletic.com/5141270/2023/12/15/brandon-staley-chargers-demise/

Inside the demise of Chargers’ Brandon Staley: ‘Too smart for his own good’

Daniel Popper
Dec 15, 2023

The beginning of the end for Brandon Staley came at a news conference in
Wisconsin.

It was Nov. 19. The Los Angeles Chargers had just lost to the Green Bay
Packers, 23-20, to fall to 4-6. A season with the highest of stakes was
slipping through Staley’s fingers, and the Chargers coach could not hide
the emotion of the moment.

His defense had imploded on the Packers’ game-winning touchdown drive.
The Chargers committed a pass interference penalty on a third-and-20.
Two plays later, two defenders collided, leading to a missed tackle on a
35-yard catch-and-run. Two plays after that, the defense failed to line
up quickly enough pre-snap, and a blown coverage allowed receiver Romeo
Doubs to run free for the go-ahead 24-yard touchdown.

At the lectern after the loss, Staley reiterated that he had “full
confidence” in himself as the defensive play caller. The Chargers had
given up the most passing yards in the league through 11 weeks. When
asked about the apparent disconnect between his confidence and the
product on the field, Staley said the quiet part out loud: “I know we
give ourselves a chance to win every single week with the game plans
that we have.”

The Chargers fired Staley on Friday morning, less than a month after he
uttered these words. The team also fired general manager Tom Telesco,
who was in his 11th season. Giff Smith takes over as interim coach. JoJo
Wooden is the interim general manager. This amounts to a full-blown
organizational reset. “We are clearly not where we expect to be,” owner
Dean Spanos said in a statement, “and we need new vision.”

In the end, Staley’s greatest strength — an unwavering belief in himself
— became his downfall. The news conference moment in Green Bay revealed
this for the world to see. In the same answer, without another question
being asked, Staley said he was “fully responsible” for the defensive
performance. His true feelings, though, were rooted in his initial
statement: The plan was good enough; the execution was not.

There is a fine line between conviction and arrogance, between
confidence and hubris. At times, Staley toed that line with an admirable
deftness. Too often, however, he crossed it, both publicly and privately.

“He’s a good, smart f—ing coach,” a team source said of Staley. “Too
smart for his own good sometimes.” This was a sentiment shared by
multiple team sources throughout Staley’s three seasons as head coach.
Each was granted anonymity so that they could speak freely.

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