Chargers hiring Brandon Staley as head coach

Rams' defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has been named the next head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers swooped in to land Staley as playoff action was wrapping up on Sunday night.

Staley was not in the NFL until 2017. He joined Northern Illinois's coaching staff as a grad assistant in 2006 and spent three years with the Huskies. He then joined a couple Division III coaching staffs before taking another GA roll at Tennessee and becoming defensive coordinator at John Carroll University. Staley would leave for James Madison and return to John Carroll before joining the Bears' defensive staff under Vic Fangio.

Fangio took Staley with him when he go the head coaching job in Denver, but the Rams were able to poach Staley after just one season. He replaced Wade Phillips as DC in LA, and the Rams became the league's top defensive unit.

It is interesting that the Chargers would hire a defensive coach with all the young offensive talent they have. However, as many have pointed out, Staley was a college quarterback-- which may make him the perfect choice among candidates with defensive coaching backgrounds.

Staley becomes one of several current NFL team employees with connections to John Carroll University and will be introduced later this week.