4 early favorites to replace Brandon Staley as Chargers head coach

Ben Johnson

The Chargers went against the grain when they hired Brandon Staley back in 2021. Many assumed that the team would hire an offensive-minded head coach to coach Justin Herbert with Brian Daboll being the favorite. Instead, the Chargers went with a defensive-minded head coach.

The results obviously have not been great as Staley has piloted an awful defense and has seemed in over his head as a head coach. Herbert has bounced from scheme to scheme and with no real support, he has had to carry the Chargers to relevancy over the last three years.

Thus, the Chargers would be smart to go the other way and hire an offensive-minded head coach who can establish something concrete in Los Angeles that works and doesn't change every season. That is why Ben Johnson, who is the hottest head coaching name among coordinators, makes sense.

Johnson has done tremendous things with Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions offense and there are even higher limits he could push with Herbert as his quarterback. Johnson is one of the best young play-callers in the sport and that would undoubtedly benefit with a robot at quarterback like Herbert.

While he is a hot coordinator name, Johnson is not going to be nearly as expensive as Belichick or Harbaugh, which makes him more likely for the team. There is some risk in hiring a first-time head coach but as we said before, history tends to repeat itself.