NFL Conference Championship Weekend will be lit, as the Packers and Buccaneers, as well as Chiefs and Bills, are set to compete for the opportunity to play in Super Bowl LV.
And yet, it’s news that features a team whose season ended weeks ago that has my attention:
The #Chargers are hiring #Rams DC Brandon Staley as their head coach, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 18, 2021
NFL Network insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport report the Los Angeles Chargers are hiring Brandon Staley to be their next head coach. Staley just finished his first year as the Rams’ defensive coordinator, scheming one of the league’s top defenses to a second-place finish in the NFC West and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. The Rams were unceremoniously dumped by the Packers on Saturday, but that didn’t scare off the Chargers one bit. Good for them.
Staley, 38, has been on a meteoric rise up the coaching ladder. If you’re reading this, you’re likely familiar with him as his time coaching Bears outside linebackers in 2017-18. And with that in mind, we’ll need to keep tabs on the assistants Staley has eyes for during this hiring period.
NFL reporter Jason La Canfora named Bears Defensive Line Coach Jay Rodgers as someone Staley could hire onto his staff. Rodgers is an early favorite in Chicago’s search of a defensive coordinator to replace Chuck Pagano. However, Rodgers’ contract expires this week. In other words, the Bears likely need to move quickly to promote Rodgers or risk losing him to the Chargers.
We’ll monitor this situation as it develops.