The LA Chargers dropped a disappointing game in classic Chargers fashion against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. It was a winnable game for the Bolts that ultimately came down to a few costly mistakes by the Bolts.
It is not hard to pinpoint where this game went wrong for the Bolts with head coach Brandon Staley and cornerback J.C. Jackson taking most of the blame. Staley's defensive game plan had no answer for the Dolphins while Jackson cost the Chargers in various ways.
While it is only Week 1, Chargers fans are already fed up with the team's head coach. Staley entered the season already on thin ice after last year's 27-0 blown lead in the AFC Wild Card Round. He is going to have to win the fanbase back and a performance like Sunday's is not going to do the trick.
Fans are already coming up with a master plan to replace Staley as the team's head coach this season. It is unlikely that the Chargers would ever actually do this (unless the season really got out of hand) but that has not kept some Chargers fans from dreaming.
I’ve seen enough. Kellen Moore head coach. Brandon Staley get out pic.twitter.com/8daryLAiiM
— pinkpanther (@pinkpanther4056) September 10, 2023
Support is growing for Kellen Moore to replace Brandon Staley as Chargers head coach
There is a contingent of Chargers fans who are voicing support for new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore while critiquing Staley. After all, Moore's offense just put up 34 points and did something that Joe Lombardi could never figure out in LA: run the ball.
Was Moore's offense perfect? Not in the slightest. But it definitely did its job and was taking what the defense was giving it. It is impossible to look at this game and blame Moore, which is why he is such a hot name for Chargers fans right now.
Fans can dream all they want but a move like this is not going to happen anytime soon and even if it did it would not change much. Let's say the Chargers were to fire Staley, the team wouldn't undergo a complete defensive change in the middle of the season. Completely changing the philosophy of the defense is not something you can do midseason.
It is one thing when it is just a defensive coordinator. It is another thing when it is a head coach. Staley has his fingerprints all over the defensive side of the ball. So even if the team were to fire him, the Chargers would still be running a similar defensive scheme for the time being with a different play-caller.
Is this a possibility in the future? Perhaps. If the offense continues to look the way it did today then Moore is going to be a hot-ticket head coaching candidate. If the Chargers don't win a playoff game then Staley is definitely going to be gone. There is a world in which Staley coaches his way out of LA and Moore takes over after building a rapport with Herbert.
But it is not going to happen soon and Chargers fans need to remember to be patient and hope for the best. Asking (or wanting) the team to blow it up one week into the season is a bit of an overreaction.