Rex Ryan buries Brandon Staley after Jim Harbaugh's Chargers debut

The LA Chargers played the first game of the Jim Harbaugh era on Sunday and the differences in how the team played were stark. Harbaugh is known for winning everywhere he coaches and in just one game the Chargers already look like a completely different football team.

The Bolts got revenge over the Las Vegas Raiders for last season's 63-21 walloping. While the loss was better for the Chargers' draft position, those in the locker room undoubtedly wanted to avenge that loss and get the upper hand over the Raiders.

That 63-21 loss was Brandon Staley's last game as head coach for the Chargers and it really is remarkable how different the team looked under Harbaugh than it looked under Staley. The NFL world has certainly taken notice of these differences and some, such as Rex Ryan, are taking the opportunity to bury Staley in the process.

"And by the way, they can actually play defense," Ryan said about the Chargers on Monday's Get Up. "They actually have a guy named Jesse Minter back there, I coached under his dad, he was kicking butt. They threw out a guy that's a Division III coach, now they can play defense."

Rex Ryan buries Brandon Staley after Chargers' Week 1 win

Ryan's Division III reference is meant as a jab at Staley, who coached at John Carroll University before making the jump to the NFL with the Chicago Bears in 2016. Staley's rise to being an NFL head coach was rapid, and most of his detractors pointed out the fact that he was in over his head.

This is not the first time that Ryan has critiqued Staley and it probably will not be the last. Heck, if the San Francisco 49ers have a bad defensive day with Staley as an assistant coach then Ryan will probably take it as an opportunity to bury Staley.

Ryan (rightfully) critiqued Staley after the Chargers' loss to the Green Bay Packers last year which also included a frustrated Staley not leaving a good impression in the post-game press conference. Ryan has been a grade-A hater of Staley's before the wheels started to fall off in LA, saying that he disrespected the game back in January of 2023 when the Chargers were a playoff team.

All of this stems from Ryan's close relationship with Anthony Lynn, who had the Chargers job before Staley took over. And while some Chargers fans defended Staley at the time, it is safe to say now that Ryan was right.

Despite having most of the same players, Staley's defense almost never looked like Minter's defense looked on Sunday. They had good games, sure, but the way the Chargers were flying around the field and rallying to the football was something that never happened under Staley.

It truly is a new era in Los Angeles and it is clear that the Bolts had the biggest head coaching upgrade in the league this offseason. According to some, they went from a Division III coach to a Division I National Champion.