Brandon Staley didn't work out as Los Angeles Chargers head coach. But the reason he got the job wasn't because of his ability to make decisions on fourth down or manage the clock, things that got away from him with the Chargers.
Staley got his shot because he was a smart defensive coordinator. Staley isn't the first coordinator whose first head-coaching job didn't work out as hoped. The New Orleans Saints understand all that.
New Saints head coach Kellen Moore made one of the key hires for his first staff, getting Staley as his defensive coordinator according to multiple reports including NFL Media.
There will be a lot of work to do. The Saints had some aging stars on defense last season and that unit could look a lot different after some salary cap related moves. But it's a long-term move for Moore, and he's hoping Staley can reclaim the magic he had as Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator before the Chargers hired him.
In 2020, Staley's first season as an NFL defensive coordinator, the Rams finished first in the NFL in yards and points allowed. He was just 39 years old when the Chargers hired him to be their head coach. He went 24-24 with a lot of his aggressive tactics being questioned. He was fired after a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in his third season, then spent last season as the assistant head coach on the San Francisco 49ers.
Staley is hopeful another successful turn as a defensive coordinator gets him back in the mix for head-coaching interviews. He'll have his challenges in New Orleans, especially early on as the Saints rebuild a bit, but he has shown in the past he can be successful running a defense.
