3 "Brandon Staley guys" who have no future on the Chargers (and 1 who does)
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers allowed the most points in franchise history on Thursday and that was enough to get Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco fired. Giff Smith has taken over as the interim head coach and JoJo Wooden has taken over as interim GM as the Chargers enter a new era.
Neither Smith nor Wooden are the long-term solutions for the Chargers and the first order of business for the team is going to be to fill those roles. The GM role will be filled first, with that new GM being involved in the process of hiring a new head coach.
Then the attention will turn to the roster construction and moves that need to be made in the offseason. With the Chargers well over the projected cap in 2024, the new GM is going to have to make some tough decisions and plug the holes in this roster with limited resources.
The players with the smallest chance of returning are those with ties to Staley. With that tie now severed, Staley's firing may guarantee that specific players do not return to the Chargers.
Eric Kendricks has no future on the Chargers
Eric Kendricks is different from the other three players on this list as he did not play for Staley prior to joining the Chargers. He did, however, play for Staley's good friend Kevin O'Connell and Staley made it very clear when Kendricks was signed that he loved the signing.
Staley lauded Kendricks when he signed with the Chargers even when the signing made no sense. The Chargers paid an aging Kendricks more than Kyzir White and Drue Tranquill got combined in their free agency after being Chargers.
Both White and Tranquill had breakout seasons for the Chargers that were not rewarded. Instead, Staley fell in love with an aging veteran, likely pounded the table to bring him in, and the results have been far from great this season.
Kendricks has one more year under contract but can be cut from his deal to save the team salary-cap space. With Staley no longer in the building, Kendricks may be leaving as well.