(Image Credit: Gary Vasquez/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Twitter: @NicholasMullick
The past few days has been very difficult for Chargers fans. Especially in how the Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-30. They had a 27-0 lead and they blew it. One thing is for sure and that was in losing this game coaches jobs are going to be lost. The first coach who is now gone from the Los Angeles Chargers is offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
Let's be real, Lombardi is a terrible offensive coordinator who was way over his head in this role. The play calling in that Jaguars game was so strange and he could not adapt with the injuries this team has gone through. Remember on a 3rd and 1 calling that Jet Sweep, which resulted in a fumble that took them out of field goal range. I have not forgotten and that is just horrendous. What is horrendous is his refusal to run the football in the 2nd half of that game.
If I am going to be real I am shocked Lombardi was not fired in the middle of the season with the charger fan base voicing their frustration with Lombardi. Especially as the Chargers offense has been this messy and poorly coached for a large chunk of the season.
Now I do think that Lombardi will get another role in the NFL as a positional coach. With the experience he has as a QB coach with the New Orleans Saints (2009-2013 & 2016-2020). I would not even be shocked if Lombardi jumps on Sean Payton’s coaching crew wherever he goes excluding the Chargers. Or if not maybe 2023 he becomes an assistant with one squad and then becomes the QB coach with Sean Payton in 2024 if teams don’t want to trade picks for him. All I know is that Lombardi should get another position coaching in football. Whether it is in the NFL, USFL, or XFL he should find another role. It would not shock me if Lombardi decides to coach in college.
My advice to the Chargers is simple, keep going. Lombardi should not be the only one that is fired as a result of this loss. They have already done it by firing QB coach Shane Day, but more should not come back next season.
It should not stop on just the offensive side of football, but defensive as well. This collapse was also on defense too and I don’t care if they made Trevor Lawrence in the first half look like Nathan Peterman. If you can’t hold that large of a lead and loose, then there is a problem on defense.
One question I have to ask the Chargers is simple: Why is Brandon Staley still here? I mean the fact that he was not fired immediately speaks a ton of volumes. He should have been fired immediately after the Jaguars game ended. You know what, no matter how they performed in the playoffs, Staley should have still been fired no matter what when looking at the way he handled this team in Week 18
If he is back as the Head Coach for the Chargers, then you might as well write off the 2023 NFL Season. Coaching matters in this league and I don’t see the Chargers doing well long term with Staley as the head coach. Getting rid of Lombardi, had to be done and is a step in the right direction.