Brandon Staley has started his third season as the LA Chargers head coach on the wrong foot. After blowing a 27-0 lead in the AFC Wild Card Round the year prior, Staley's team has limped out of the starting gate with a 0-2 record.
Staley was already on thin ice with the fanbase after last year's playoff loss and it appears that most fans are ready for a changing of the guard at head coach. The Chargers historically don't fire coaches midseason, so many fans are worried that 2023 will be yet another wasted year.
What makes this worse is the fact that there have been several great coaches in recent years who easily could have progressed in the Chargers' coaching tree. Instead, Tom Telesco let all of these promising options walk.
5 great coaches the Chargers let slip between their fingers:
5. Frank Reich
Frank Reich is probably the worst head coach on this list but he would still be an improvement from Brandon Staley if he were to be the head coach of the Chargers in 2023. Reich also has not been dealt the best hand by the Indianapolis Colts and now the Carolina Panthers as he truly maximized his tenure in Indy.
Reich was hired alongside Ken Wisenhunt by the Chargers in 2013 and was a key reason for Philip Rivers' resurgence that season. Wisenhunt eventually left to be a head coach and opened the door for Reich to be the offensive coordinator for two seasons.
At the time Reich did not seem like a valuable coach as the Chargers had plenty of room to grow offensively in his last year with the team. However, he was then hired by the Philadelphia Eagles and played a key role in winning the Super Bowl with Nick Foles under center.
That landed him the head coaching gig with the Colts, which eventually ended and opened the door for him to pilot the Carolina Panthers with first-overall pick Bryce Young.