The Chargers get a chance to put the past in the past when they host the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium. They spoke often this week about taking advantage of the few remaining opportunities they have with only three games left in the 2023 season.
But, in fact, a fresh start really won’t happen until a new coach and general manager are hired and a new roster is assembled as preparations begin for the 2024 season without Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco. There is much work to be done between now and next September.
Firing their coach and GM was only the beginning, apparently, as the Chargers on Friday waived defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, a move that will aid them in the offseason as they face significant salary-cap issues for the 2024 season. They are projected to be nearly $35 million over the cap.
“We felt it was in the best interest of the team,” said John Spanos, the Chargers’ president of football operations, when asked this week about getting a head start on next season by relieving Staley and Telesco of their duties. “We weren’t where we needed to be. Why were we not where we needed to be?”
Indeed, before the Chargers could look ahead, it was important to understand what happened, how it happened and why it happened. Some answers were easier to formulate than others as the players and coaches attempted to hit a reset button on a season gone horribly wrong.
“I don’t think any of us saw this happening during the season, from where we started and the expectations that we had for ourselves,” Chargers running back Austin Ekeler said. “There’s been a change at the head of our organization. For us (players), it’s important that we stay together.”
To be sure, the team that takes the field Saturday will not be the team that lined up for the season-opening game. Season-ending injuries or illnesses have sidelined quarterback Justin Herbert, wide receiver Mike Williams and centers Corey Linsley and Will Clapp, among many others.
Injuries alone could not explain the Chargers’ 5-9 record and their last-place standing in the AFC West, though. Nor could Staley’s poorly performing defense alone account for losses in five of the past six games. Nor could offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s lackluster rushing game.
Staley did bear the ultimate burden of the Chargers’ lack of results on the field, though, and that’s why he was fired. Telesco shouldered the blame, too. After all, he was the one, along with Staley, that put the 2023 roster together and his name was on the final product, such as it was.
“Definitely disappointed we couldn’t get it done for him,” said Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who was acquired from Chicago in the 2022 offseason and reunited with Staley, who was a Bears assistant coach in 2018. “It’s business, man, it comes with a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure.”
When the Chargers hit bottom with an embarrassing 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last week, team owner Dean Spanos fired Staley and Telesco the next morning. It was time for a change, one that might have otherwise come at season’s end.
“When things don’t go accordingly, ultimately somebody has to take the fall for it,” Mack said. “Whether it’s the players, whether it’s the coaches, whether it’s the staff, you never want to be in these situations. This is my third time being a part of something like this, so definitely unfortunate.
“But we’ve got to get ready for Buffalo, man.”
As much as the Chargers would like to take advantage of what’s left in the 2023 season, with Giff Smith serving as interim coach and JoJo Wooden serving as interim general manager, the road ahead looks rocky. The Bills (8-6) are coming off consecutive wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
“You have a game this week and you want to get this team ready to play in the game,” Smith said. “The time for reflection will be in three weeks, really. I just want to do right by the Spanos family, by this organization, but most importantly, by these players, to put them in a position to compete and to win come Saturday night.”
CHARGERS (5-9) vs. BILLS (8-6)
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/Radio: Ch. 4, Peacock/98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish)
