3 reasons the Chargers should fire Brandon Staley (and 2 reasons why they might not)

The Chargers should fire Brandon Staley because of the defensive woes

To be fair to Brandon Staley, the defense has actually played better in recent weeks. It looked like the Chargers were well on their way to having a bottom-five defense in the league but that unit has turned it around.

It took Staley benching players who should have been benched weeks ago and even then, it is not like the Chargers thrived against the best opponents. The game against Baltimore was great defensively, he absolutely deserves credit there, but shutting out the New England Patriots probably isn't a huge accomplishment.

Denver scored 24 points but the defense played better than the final score indicated. Either way, though, this is the third year of Staley's tenure and the fact that the defense is just now playing decent is not a good sign.

It goes deeper than just the numbers on the paper, though. Staley would point to how many points and yards his defense has allowed over the last three weeks as a reason for success. But what he won't point at is the regression that players like Derwin James and Joey Bosa have had in his system. Or the fact that he couldn't develop Kenneth Murray, Asante Samuel Jr, or several of his defensive draft picks.

The defense is Staley's bread and butter. While it has turned it around over the last three weeks, there are far too many examples of that being the contrary. If he was an offensive head coach it would be excusable. But he isn't. And if Staley isn't piloting a strong defense, and the offense is also regressing, then what exactly is he doing?