Former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has entered the pool of defensive coordinator candidates for teams with vacancies this offseason.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Staley will interview with Green Bay on Friday and then Miami on Saturday. The Rams are also reported to have interest in their former 2020 defensive coordinator following the departure of now Falcons head coach Raheem Morris.
Staley rose to prominence initially following his work with the Rams in 2020. Leading the No. 1 ranked defense in the league with his unique light box defensive style eventually earned him the gig with the Chargers. It would make some institutional sense for Staley to replace Morris with a decent comfort level in the franchise and opportunity to reunite with Sean McVay.
With Miami and Green Bay, Staley does have perhaps a unique perspective to spin on similar schemes. Former Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry worked under Staley’s defense in Los Angeles as linebackers coach. Ultimately, it seems like the Packers want a new play caller approach to the same Vic Fangio style scheme that Barry ran.
The same could be said for Staley’s Miami interview. He could bring a Fangio-inspired defensive approach to replacing his former mentor. Reportedly, Fangio and the Dolphins’ split was mutual as he pursued an opportunity to work closer to home with Philadelphia. If the Dolphins wanted to keep the same system in place with Jalen Ramsey, Staley would fit right in. The two obviously worked magic together with the 2020 Rams.
Staley is reportedly a hot defensive coordinator on the market, per Ian Rapoport. Lining up two interviews with another team interested does give credence to that. However, I’d be curious to see how Staley answers for never having a single-season defense that ranked higher than 19th in EPA/play in his time with the Chargers. Or, the league-wide trend that the two high shell schemes that have not been run by Fangio himself have been taking a beating recently.
