Brandon Staley's tenure as LA Chargers head coach was so disappointing that fans are still talking about it years after he was fired by the team. The Chargers since hired one of the best coaches in all of football yet the idea that the Chargers wasted multiple years of Justin Herbert still leaves an ugly taste.
Chargers players have spoken out about Staley's defense since his departure and the reviews have not been great. However, not every former player has a negative view of Staley's defense and one recent fan favorite is providing some clarity that did not exist before.
Former fan-favorite nose tackle Breiden Fehoko pulled back the curtain on social media on Monday and talked through several of the conceptions Chargers fans had about the team's defense under Staley. Most notably, Fehoko squashed the idea that Staley had an ego, and alluded to individualism being the culprit for the team's struggles.
Nah Staley ain’t have an ego. He a good coach. His defense works you just need 11 guys who know the jobs of the rest of the defense. We just had spurts where guys wanted to achieve individual success vs the success of the team. Thats just what it was no sugar coating. https://t.co/KOuCjBdSZo
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) June 30, 2025
Former Chargers fan-favorite Breiden Fehoko rallies to Brandon Staley's defense
This goes against everything Chargers fans thought about Staley's defense. Fans circled Staley as the problem, not the players on the roster, and assumed he had an ego since he never changed his ways and would often get in spats during press conferences.
That is not the story that Fehoko is selling and it's an interesting perspective. In fact, Fehoko went on to further explain Staley's defense and dismantle the idea that the defense was too complex to be successful.
Fehoko did admit that "at times" the defense was too complex, but reiterated that Staley's defense is the same Vic Fangio-style defense that just won a Super Bowl. According to Fehoko, he became the best version of himself for the Chargers once he "fully grasped" the defense.
The former Chargers defensive lineman did not stop there. When some fans questioned Fehoko's intentions, he was quick to point out that Staley was the same coach who put him on the roster in Week 1 and cut him one week later. He is not defending Staley simply to defend him.
Fehoko also said there were at least four players off the top of his head who would "go rogue" and not follow the defensive game plan. One fan questioned if Jerry Tillery was one of them, to which Fehoko said no.
It's unclear who those four players are, although Chargers fans have their best guesses based on who did well and who struggled on defense during Staley's tenure.
Either way, this is compelling insight from someone who was actually in the locker room with Staley and has absolutely no reason to defend him years after the fact. Chargers fans will feel how they will feel either way, but sometimes the entire picture is more complex than we all realize.