Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley has probably earned a lot of criticism sent his way. The Chargers, assembled with some quality talent and a Top 10 quarterback in Justin Herbert, once again lost in uninspiringly familiar fashion on Sunday to the Green Bay Packers.
And well, following that loss, Staley melted down at his press conference. Among the things said were that he wasn’t talking to fans during the press conference, an unusual answer about wide receiver Quentin Johnston, who dropped a crucial would-be touchdown that would have put the Chargers up late, and a general iciness about him.
That did not enthuse former head coach-turned-ESPN analyst Rex Ryan on Monday. Ryan appeared on Get Up on Monday morning, where the show panel discussed Staley’s comments. Host Mike Greenberg asked Ryan what he thought about it, and Ryan had an emphatic answer.
“What do I think of that? I think he should go back to Division III football where he belongs,” Ryan said.
“Look, this guy. Look at his resume, man. I mean, I’m sorry. He spent one year coordinating a team that my wife could coach with Aaron Donald and all those guys. Stop it. And trust me, she’d do a hell of a lot better job than this guy’s doing with his defense. They’re the second-highest payroll in the National Football League and they’re the second-worst. Like, this team is atrocious,” Ryan continued.
The former New York Jets coach also took issue with how Staley handled his postgame press conference.
“I’m sorry, your job is to sit up there and answer questions. That man has a right, or that woman has a right to ask any question she wants. You get paid to answer those things. Alright? Handle it. The reason they’re questioning you is because you’re atrocious on defense. Give it to anybody else. Let somebody else coach, ’cause it ain’t getting done,” Ryan said.
Greenberg suggested that Staley’s comments threw his players under the bus with how he discussed things at his presser. Ryan agreed with him.
Now, granted, Ryan has had some coaching errors in the past. So if viewers questioned the messenger here, they might have a point. And, also, suggesting a coach go back to D3 is pretty harsh. However, Ryan is hardly the only person calling for Staley to be let go, even on ESPN. So even while there might have been histrionics at play, the resentment is clearly tipping over in LA.
