Chargers News: Rams Head Coach Applauds Brandon Staley's Defensive Genius

Can 2023 be the year the Bolts defense thrives?

When the Los Angeles Chargers hired Brandon Staley a few years ago to take over as their head coach, they were banking on him bringing some of his strong defensive schemes with him.

Staley had previously worked alongside current Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and learned a ton from him. Fangio is regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the game right now, and it seemed to rub off on Staley.

Prior to him joining the Bolts, Staley was the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams for one season in 2020. During the one year as the head man in charge of defense, Staley helped guide them to being one of the best in the league. The Rams were first across the NFL in points allowed and total yards allowed, making him a hot commodity on the market.

Ram's head coach Sean McVay was a major fan of Staley during their time together and even before. It was a big reason why he brought him in to help lead the team. 

“The guy (Staley) was, you know, really impressive and had a vision and had a capacity for what he wanted it to look like and how he wanted to teach it,” McVay said. “And he had done it at a really high level and had gone against a lot of different, you know, conflicts and systems at the collegiate level.”

Per The Athletic

Staley incorporates a system that forces quarterbacks to go against their first look by rotating the defensive backs after the snap.

He worked as an outside linebacker's coach in the NFL for three seasons before he joined the Rams. This is where he learned under Fangio, which has helped him since.

“They can look up and it might not be what they saw pre-snap, and especially if you hide the alignments of your corners and your nickel and stuff like that, you can hide that too, then hey, you’ve made it tougher on that guy post-snap,” Staley said. “And that’s certainly what we’re trying to do philosophically"



Per The Athletic

However, the Chargers' defenses haven't lived up to the hype so far. But they are hopeful that this season will be different with a clean bill of health.

LA has a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball, with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Derwin James Jr. leading the charge. The Bolts have big expectations for this coming season, and with more experience under his belt, Staley might finally be able to prove why he was hired in the first place.