The Hot Seat: AFC West Head Coaches' job security in 2023

2. Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers

Job security: Hottest seat in the AFC West

The reality here is that I think there are two truths. The perception from the outside looking in at Brandon Staley and the Los Angeles Chargers is that Staley is clearly on the hot seat. The Chargers suffered an excruciating loss in the playoffs to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Staley has been squarely to blame for many of this team's shortcomings the last couple of years.

With that being said, the Chargers' actions speak louder than any words, here. Yes, it looks like Staley may have been forced into finding a new offensive coordinator, which the Chargers did when they fired Joe Lombardi and hired Kellen Moore from the Dallas Cowboys.

After the Chargers' playoff collapse against the Jaguars, the masses of football fans were almost certain that Staley was going to be fired and that the Chargers would go ahead and hire Sean Payton. Many Broncos fans were absolutely positive the team wasn't getting Payton as their next head coach because they were positive the Chargers were getting him.

There's definitely a tension between what the Chargers are actually doing here and the general NFL fan's perception, but I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. I think the Chargers are sticking their necks out for Brandon Staley and I think he's got one more year to get this team to a point where they feel like they are truly progressing. Making the playoffs last year was progression in itself, but even just making the playoffs in 2023 might not be enough to keep Staley's job safe.

I think if the Chargers stink horribly early in the year, like in a really bad way, Staley could potentially be fired in-season. But I would say that is much more likely to happen after the season than anything.