When Chargers coach Brandon Staley spoke with the media after his team’s 63–21 loss to the Raiders, it didn’t take long for the topic of his job security to be broached.
When asked if he thinks he’ll still be the team’s head coach come Friday, Staley said he didn’t know.
He was then asked if he thought he should maintain his role as head coach, to which he said, “Yes,” per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“I know what I’ve done here for three years; I know what I’ve put into this and I know that we’re capable of going,” Staley said [h/t NFL Network’s Bridget Condon]. “I know the type of coach that I am. I believe in myself but again this isn’t about me. This is about a group that’s hurting in there.
“We’ve got to get some rest and we have to get ready for Buffalo.”
The Chargers host the Bills in Week 16, and it seems Staley is setting his sights on that matchup, despite the uncertainty surrounding his future with the franchise.
The 63 points surrendered by Los Angeles on Thursday night were the most in a single game in franchise history. Staley said he was trying to put the loss behind him, saying that “games like this happen.”
“Games like this happen in the NFL to every coach that's ever coached in this league,” Staley said. “You can look at any great coach that's ever coached in the league, sometimes games like this happen and I don't need to retrace history but it's just part of sports.
“Sometimes there are games where it doesn't go right, none of it. You have to put it behind you and you got to move on to the next thing.”
Thursday’s loss sees Staley fall to 24–24 as coach since being hired before the 2021 NFL season. The Chargers are 5–9 on the year, having lost two straight games and five of their last six.
