Los Angeles Chargers fire head coach Brandon Staley, GM Tom Telesco

The Los Angeles Chargers have fired their head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco, the team announced on Friday.

"These decisions are never easy, nor are they something I take lightly – especially when you consider the number of people they impact," Dean Spanos, owner of the Chargers, said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. "We are clearly not where we expect to be, however, and we need new vision. Doing nothing in the name of continuity was not a risk I was willing to take. Our fans have stood strong through so many ups and downs and close games. They deserve more. Frankly, they've earned more."

The Chargers are 5-9 and at the bottom in the American Football Conference (AFC) West. They lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 63-21 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on Thursday. Though the Chargers had been unlikely to appear in the playoffs before this game, it was still one of the worst losses in franchise history, motivating Spanos to do something.

Earlier this week, the Chargers' starting quarterback (QB) Justin Herbert underwent finger surgery and won't play in the rest of the season. He completed 297 of his 456 passes for 3.134 yards and 20 touchdowns with seven interceptions in 13 games.

Staley became the Chargers' head coach in 2020 after achieving success in the Los Angeles Rams as the defensive coordinator in 2020. Back then, the Rams allowed the fewest total points, yards and first downs of all 32 teams. However, the Chargers have never been out of the NFL's bottom-10 on defense under him.

Staley's coaching record stopped at 24-24 in the Chargers. They reached the playoffs once under him during the 2022 campaign but lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card Game. He became the second coach the team sacked in four years after Anthony Lynn.