3 reasons why the LA Chargers might trade up for Penei Sewell
By Jason Reed
2. Tom Telesco’s job with the LA Chargers is likely on the line
Rarely do general managers get to hire three head coaches when the first two were both pretty big failures. A new general manager is usually tasked with helping hire that third head coach, but not Tom Telesco. He was saved.
Telesco was saved by Justin Herbert, let’s be honest. If the Miami Dolphins would have selected Herbert and the Chargers got Tua Tagovailoa then Telesco might not be the GM right now. Tua would still be on the team, as he can still be great, but Herbert’s record-setting rookie season saved his job.
If Telesco strikes out in this draft and the Chargers are extremely disappointing next season then he very well could get the ax, even if Brandon Staley sticks around. While it might be unrealistic to expect the playoffs, anything short of a competitive football team is going to put Telesco on the hot seat.
He knows this and he knows that his days with the Chargers might be numbered, so now is the time if any to take a big risk and trade a future first-round pick to move up in the draft and get the generational left tackle.
It sounds trivial and I know fans don’t care about Telesco’s job security, they care about the success of the team, but it absolutely is a factor. We see this time and time again in the NFL: GMs on their last legs throw hail marys like this hoping to keep their job.
It very well could work. The Chargers would have a franchise left tackle, franchise quarterback and franchise edge rusher (the three most impactful positions in football). And if it doesn’t, Telesco gets the boot and he doesn’t care about the future draft picks.