Chargers News: Bolts Dean Spanos Surprisingly High in Owner Rankings
Fans often chastize NFL owners when their given favorite team becomes messy. The owner is supposed to hire the proper infrastructure to allow the team to be successful for many years. Despite Dean Spanos handing over the day-to-day responsibilities to his son John, he has now been ranked by The Athletic.
Charger fans might still blame Dean Spanos for this off-year, especially given how head coach Brandon Staley has been on the hot seat. The Bolts are currently 5-7 and are staring down the possibility of not making the playoffs. Should they miss out, and the Bolts not relieve Staley of his duties, the blame will fall on John and Dean collectively.
The Athletic decided to rank all 32 team owners, and Dean Spanos is surprisingly high on that list. Out of the 32 teams, Dean comes in at #15, which is just a shade over the middle of the pack.
Dean Spanos holds a 45-44 (.507) record for his tenure running the team fully since 2018 when his father Alex passed. Though Dean handed off the daily operations to his son John in 2015, he is the current owner.
Dean inherited Anthony Lynn as head coach, who held a record of 33-31 during his time coaching the Chargers from 2017-2020. After Lynn's departure, the Spanos family would seek out Brandon Staley as the next head coach.
Staley has been in place since 2021 and holds a record of 24-22. Plenty of people have been critical of Staley, and his inability to realize he might not be the best person for a head coaching job.
Despite two winning records, the Chargers have been mediocre at best under his leadership. Should he fail to lead the team to the playoffs, we imagine the Spanos family will let him go.
John Spanos might run the daily operations, but Dean will be the first one blamed by fans and pundits alike for allowing Staley to hold the team at this level for multiple years. 15 out of 32 isn't terrible, but being mediocre is not that great either.
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