Brandon Staley's tenure as LA Chargers head coach could not have gone any worse. Despite being lauded as one of the great young defensive minds in the NFL, the Chargers consistently had one of the worst defenses in the league under Staley.
Staley's former players had no problem burying his defense on his way out, which was made worse by the fact the Chargers turned it around with the top-scoring defense in the league under Jesse Minter. With the San Francisco 49ers taking a massive step back defensively as soon as Staley joined the staff in 2024, his stock could not be any lower.
Or so we thought. Just over one year after the Chargers fired him after a record-breaking 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Staley may be in line for another defensive coordinator job.
Former Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who is expected to officially take the Saints head coach job after the Super Bowl, appears to be throwing Staley a life raft as he may be in line for the Saints' defensive coordinator job.
Once Kellen Moore signs his deal with the Saints, I'd expect him to have strong interest in former Chargers coach Brandon Staley as his defensive coordinator. Moore was Staley's OC in LA in 2023. Staley coordinated the league's No. 1 defense as the Rams' DC in 2020. @TheAthletic
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) February 10, 2025
Former Chargers HC Brandon Staley may reunite with Kellen Moore on the Saints
Nobody expected Staley to get a defensive coordinator job this soon after his failed stint with the Chargers. Staley was in the conversation for the 49ers' defensive coordinator job but was always viewed as a last-resort option. For New Orleans, he may be the team's No. 1 option.
Connections mean a lot in the NFL and it is clear that Moore's connection with Staley from their shared time in Los Angeles is valuable. Staley and the Chargers threw Moore a life raft after he and Mike McCarthy broke up, and now Moore may be doing the same with the Saints.
It is hard to imagine this former Chargers duo working out in New Orleans given the circumstances. The Saints are in salary-cap purgatory and don't have the most talented roster in the league. Staley had a hard time coaching up legitimate superstars in Los Angeles, so it is hard to envision him maximizing a Saints defense that has aging stars past their prime.
But at the end of the day, this is a job Staley has to take. The long-term outlook may not look great but he is not getting any other defensive coordinator offers this offseason.
If Staley ever wants another chance at being a head coach, or at least a chance to be a sustained defensive coordinator, then he needs to go into New Orleans and shock the world. In many ways, this could be Staley's last real chance to secure a long-term role in the NFL.
Based on how things went on the Chargers, though, Saints fans should be skeptical.