Los Angeles Chargers Fire Offensive Coordinator, Implying Brandon Staley Will Stay

The Los Angeles Chargers pulled a Chargers in the Wild Card round, blowing a 27-0 lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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After the embarrassing postseason loss, speculation ran rampant on the future of head coach Brandon Staley.

But instead of Staley taking the fall for the collapse, turns out it's offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

Lombardi, the grandson of Vince Lombardi, was fired Tuesday after two seasons in Los Angeles.

This will almost assuredly not be enough to placate frustrated Chargers fans desperate to get rid of Staley.

While fans have turned on Staley, quarterback Justin Herbert seemed to support his head coach and the front office.

INGLEWOOD, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley looks on with quarterback Justin Herbert (10) before the NFL regular season game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers on September 25, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Chargers to Miss Out on Payton?

Staley's had just two seasons in LA, and does have a winning record at 19-15. But since he's arrived, it's seemed like the Chargers haven't gotten the best out of Justin Herbert.

The organization's developed plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. That makes the poor execution, decision making and lack of aggression even more infuriating for fans.

There's plenty of blame to go around for the loss to the Jaguars, but it's the head coach's responsibility to ensure that doesn't happen.

Even though Staley will likely survive this offseason, it doesn't bode well for his long-term future in LA.

Now, it seems like Sean Payton is closer than ever to returning to coaching. But assuming Staley's retained, Payton could sign elsewhere, meaning the Chargers miss out on the best available candidate.

For a franchise perpetually stuck with bad luck, inopportune performance and unfortunate timing, that'd be perfectly fitting.

Hard to get more Chargers than that.