Chargers hire Rams DC Brandon Staley as head coach

After interviewing nine candidates over the past two weeks, the Chargers have their new head coach.

After being brought in as the team’s first in-person interview, the team is hiring Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to be the franchise’s newest head coach.

In Staley’s lone season as a defensive coordinator at the NFL level, he helped build up a Rams unit that finished tops in the league across a number of categories, including total yards allowed per game (281.9), passing defense (190.7), and points allowed per game (18.5), while also finishing third in rushing defense (91.3).

Per NFL insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, Staley was the Chargers’ top target all along throughout the hiring cycle and when he finally got the chance to get inside the building, the Bolts weren’t going to let him go.

Prior to being hired by the Rams, Staley spent the 2019 season as the outside linebackers coach for the Broncos under head coach Vic Fangio. In 2017 and 2018, he held the same position for the Chicago Bears while Fangio was still their defensive coordinator.