Takeaways from Chargers Coach Brandon Staley’s Introduction
By Daniel Popper
The Chargers introduced Brandon Staley as their new head coach on Thursday.
Here are my takeaways from a lengthy and enlightening press conference.
A player-centric philosophy
In his opening remarks, before he even fielded a question, Staley offered a sentence that was a clear window into his approach to coaching.
“The foundation for our team will start with relationships,” he said.
Based on his history and the glowing reviews he has received from players like Jalen Ramsey, Staley really means this. He does not view coaching — and teaching, for that matter — as a one-way street. It is a collaboration, a word he used multiple times Thursday. The flow of information is not merely from coach to player. It is from coach to player and from player to coach. And that is the true, literal definition of a relationship and of connectivity.
Staley is going to field input from his players and create an environment in which they are not merely heard but listened to. He has done this everywhere he has been in the NFL, coaching players like Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack, Broncos edge rusher Von Miller, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Ramsey.
“When we teach, we’re connecting with our guys. And then we’re listening a lot,” Staley said. “There’s this back and forth. There’s this collaboration to create something really unique. And I think when players feel like you’re invested in that way, you’re not just going at them. You’re going with them. I think it’s really powerful where you can take it. Because I’ve learned a lot from Jalen Ramsey. I’ve learned a lot from Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack. I’ve learned a lot from those guys. And I think that if you’ll just take a second to listen to them, you’ll be surprised what you find out.”
Staley is all about accentuating the strength of his players. He is not married to any specific scheme, offensively or defensively. He finds what his great players are elite at and what his good players are great at, and he builds from there — “uniquely shaping it around our guys,” as he said.
At least philosophically speaking — and that is all we can address right now, until we see the product on the field — that is a very sound vision.
“You learn a lot more from them than they learn from you,” Staley said of the all-world players he has coached. “I learned a lot more from Khalil Mack than he learned from me. There’s a lot of guys that could coach Khalil Mack, now. I’m just here to tell you, now. This guy is going to play good for whomever, now. So is Aaron Donald. So is Jalen Ramsey. They’re going to play good for whomever.
“But I think what we’ve been able to do is have those great players play their best for us. Play their best for us. And I think that’s what’s special, and what you must have in order for them to play their best is you must have their trust and respect, and they must know that everything that you’re doing is engineered to try and help them. And I think that is the rare recipe.”
Staley thanked a number of players in his opening statement. Four of them played for him at Division III John Carroll. That speaks volumes about the respect he has for his players and how much he values them.
The offense will be built around Justin Herbert
This aligns closely with the previous point, but it is worth diving in a little deeper because: 1) Justin Herbert’s continued development is the primary factor in this team’s future success, and 2) Staley has a defensive background.
Staley played quarterback in college, and that offensive upbringing has informed his defensive coaching significantly. As he put very eloquently Thursday, he is “a defensive coach with an offensive mind.” He came into his interview with the Chargers with a clear and substantive plan for the offense. And it should be no surprise that it revolves entirely around Herbert’s strengths.
Staley said they will not “impose a system on” Herbert.
“It’s creating the system for Justin and uniquely shaping it to his skill set, because he is unlike anybody in the NFL,” Staley said.
“What you have to do in this league is you have to earn the trust of people like Justin Herbert,” Staley added. “And that’s why I talk about a sacred mantle of a coach. You have to earn the players’ trust, and there’s not a bigger person whose trust we need to earn than Justin.”
Staley said Herbert was the second person he called after getting the Chargers job, after his wife, Amy. On his drive down to Costa Mesa for Thursday’s press conference, Staley said he FaceTimed Herbert.
“I wanted him to see us before our big day,” Staley said, “and I wanted him to know, going into a big day, that he’s such a big part of it.”
It is clear that Staley understands how much his success is tied to Herbert. That is an important starting point. And it reveals the influence Rams coach Sean McVay had on him in their one year together.
“He shapes the game around the quarterback. He shapes our offense around the quarterback,” Staley said. “You want to be able to create a system around your quarterback, and I think that’s what I’ve tried to do on defense. Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Von Miller, those guys are different players. They really are. They’re all special, right? But they’re different. And I think something that Sean does a good job of is, he plays to the strength of the quarterback and really tries to get him in rhythm, tries to get him in a comfort zone, has a lot of different ways to get that guy going within a game. And then he has a lot of solutions to all the really hard problems that quarterbacks face in this league, and there are a lot of them. You’ve got to create solutions for your quarterback when you’re playing against premium players, premium defenses, and I think that’s something that Sean does an excellent job with.”
This is something Staley will assuredly bring to the Chargers.
So what exactly will this offense look like? We will have to wait and see. But to speculate a bit, McVay runs a Shanahan-inspired play-action-heavy scheme with the Rams. The Chargers ran a similar scheme last season under Anthony Lynn, albeit with a different, establish-the-run philosophy. Odds are we will see some McVay influence in the Chargers’ new offense, both because of Staley’s ties to McVay and because that is what Herbert is familiar with and thrived in last season. Play action and quarterback movement should continue to be a big part of what the Chargers do.
Staley is still waiting to hire his offensive coordinator. But I do not think that hire will change what the Chargers do offensively. Make no mistake: This offense will be molded in Staley’s image.
“The things that are going to make this offense here successful — the strategies, the philosophies, the components — they’re going to come from Brandon,” president of football operations John Spanos said.
The right approach to analytics
Staley spoke with encouraging clarity on analytics. And I will start with this quote because it is a really good explanation of what that elusive word actually means.
“Analytics, it’s not anything new,” Staley said. “It’s just a fancier term for information, for data. And people have been working through tendencies and personnel reports as long as the NFL has been existence. But what’s, I think, been able to happen more is there have been more resources devoted to getting information quicker, and you have more access to different types of information, a wider variety of information that can help you.
“There’s so much information that you can utilize to help your players improve, and that’s really what you’re after. … I think that’s something that, the more I learn — and you always are learning, you never can learn enough, especially in that area — you just know that I can help you make better decisions and it can help your players improve.”
It is one thing to talk about it, and another one to actually apply those words to coaching decisions. But for now, Staley appears open to using as much information as possible to inform his decision making. That is a great foundation.
“I think that there are so many things now that we can measure in pro football, whether it’s on the field or off the field, in training, draft process,” Staley said. “I think analytics is a great way to bring more information to decision makers. … What analytics does is it helps drive better decision making, and we’re certainly going to try and do everything we can to invest resources in that so that we can be at the forefront of that movement, because that is where the game is going. Knowing at the same time, you have to have context and feel and all that stuff that is equally as important.”
More experience on the coaching staff?
Staley has only been coaching in the NFL for four years. He would be wise to surround himself with some NFL head-coaching experience. That does not appear to be a sure thing, but it is a possibility.
“You want to complement yourself,” Staley said. “I think self-awareness is such an important part to leadership, to life. That was certainly a part of my thought process in the interview, and that’s definitely an avenue that we’re already exploring, and look forward, like I said, to when that staff fully expresses itself. You will see people that have all those experiences that maybe I don’t have. … It’s important for me to be surrounded by people that can make me better. That’s something that I hope to embody.”
Staley is going to have a ton on his plate. He will be scheming the defense and calling those plays on game days. He will also be running point on Herbert’s development and creating this offense. Staley will need coaches he can trust on his staff, and he must be comfortable with delegating responsibility. Filling out his staff with quality — and experienced — coaches will be the paramount next step.
theathletic.com/2338498/2021/01/22/chargers-coach-brandon-staley-press-conference/
