The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Perry grad Staley is Chargers head coach
Brandon Staley is the next coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Five years ago, Staley — a Perry graduate — was the defensive coordinator at Division III John Carroll.
Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported late Jan. 17 the Chargers were set on hiring Staley as their next head coach. About an hour after the NFL Network report, the team announced Staley as their head coach.
Staley, 38, obviously impressed the San Diego brass during his interview, and that group includes General Manager Tom Telesco, who is a graduate of John Carroll.
Even more amazing about Staley’s meteoric rise in the NFL coaching ranks is he’s never served as a head coach at any level. In early January, the Jets and Chargers requested permission to interview Staley. The Jets found their coach in Robert Saleh with L.A. zeroing in on Staley.
Staley spent this past season as the Rams’ defensive coordinator and he didn’t disappoint in his first season. L.A. led the NFL in scoring defense and yards allowed. The Rams advanced to the NFC divisional round, where it lost to the Packers on Jan. 16.
Staley now becomes the second with John Carroll ties to be an NFL head coach. The first was obviously the late Don Shula, a Harvey and JCU grad who became the winningest coach in NFL history.
When news broke of team’s initial interest in Staley, several former JCU players who were mentored under Staley weren’t surprised by it. Rather, it was Staley’s fast ascension that had several a bit taken back. One was All-American linebacker at JCU Mason McKenrick, who starred on the Blue Streaks’ 2016 team that went 12-2.
McKenrick, a Mentor graduate, expected Staley to impress in his interview, and it appears that’s what happened with the Chargers.
“Without a doubt, when he walks into a room he steals the show,” said McKenrick of Mentor about Staley. “His charisma, energy, passion — it’s hard to match that.”
Another Mentor graduate, Reese Armstrong — a standout safety for the 2016 JCU team — added: “I fully expect him to go into an NFL interview and have these teams be blown away by him.”
Staley put himself on the map in 2016, when JCU’s defense was a big reason why it beat No. 1-ranked Mount Union, won the Ohio Athletic Conference and advanced to the NCAA D-III national semifinals. The defense ranked among the nation’s best.
Following that season, JCU head coach Tom Arth — now the head coach at the University of Akron — left for FCS Chattanooga and Staley went with him. He didn’t stay there long.
A few months into that gig, an opportunity to join the Bears’ coaching staff as outside linebackers coach was too enticing. He stayed in Chicago for two seasons, and joined the Broncos staff in the same position in 2019 before moving on to the Rams for the 2020 season.
Staley was a standout quarterback at Perry High School, and then the University of Dayton before embarking on a coaching career.
His first coaching job was as an graduate assistant for Mentor native Joe Novak in 2006 at Northern Illinois. Staley also coached at DIII St. Thomas, Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, the University of Tennessee, and at FCS power James Madison.