To put Act 2 of his career into motion, Brandon Staley tapped into his resources and leaned on the people who were at his side for both his meteoric rise and his biggest failure.
The New Orleans Saints hired Staley in February to coordinate their defense, giving him his first major opportunity as an NFL play-caller since the Los Angeles Chargers fired him as head coach in December 2023. The coach they’re getting is different from the one who was let go in Southern California.
He was just 38 years old when the Chargers tapped him to be their head coach in January 2021. That franchise jettisoned him five days after his 41st birthday. Between that time and when the Saints hired him, Staley spent an important year in San Francisco seeking the right way to reset.
“What I was able to do was create some space to unpack all that, and then create a new path where there’s new energy moving forward to apply all those lessons; both tough lessons and great lessons, because there was so many of both in those three years,” Staley said.
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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley watches from the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Marcio Jose Sanchez
To help get there, he spent a lot of time listening.
Staley spoke with Sean McVay, under whom he became one of the NFL’s hottest head coaching candidates while coordinating a No. 1 defense with the Rams; with Kyle Shanahan, who offered him the landing spot he needed with the 49ers spot last year; with his best friend in the coaching business, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell; and with Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, who grew up with Staley and is a godfather to Staley’s children.
He talked to mentors like John Fox and Vic Fangio. He reached out to NBA champion head coach Steve Kerr. He sought wisdom from legends like Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll — two men who took over big jobs at a very young age but didn’t hit their Hall of Fame stride until after their first opportunity flamed out. He was careful to find some people whose stories have some similarities to his own.
“I tried to seek out as many people as I feel like had wisdom that I could learn from,” Staley said. “That space that I was trying to create was so that I could improve, and I could come back fresh and better than I’ve ever been.”
In a sense, Staley took the NFL equivalent of a gap year.
He worked behind the scenes on the defense in San Francisco, but he also worked on himself. All of those conversations helped not only to identify where he may have misstepped but also to illuminate the ideal next move. Affording himself a 30,000-foot view of his career helped Staley see the destination.
“I was so zoomed in, and I was going fast for a long time,” Staley said. “It felt good to zoom out and to reset. Then what that allowed me to do was create a path forward that I knew that I could head towards.
“I knew that I needed to be on a new mission. Just because one thing ends, it doesn’t mean that it’s over. Something new is beginning, and that’s what I needed to find was that path forward, because I know that the best is ahead for me.”
Now comes the time for Staley to act upon everything he soaked up from his peers, mentors and idols.
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New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley gives directions during training camp in Metairie on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune) STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
He is a crucial part of the major shakeup within the Saints organization. Staley is effectively the head coach of the defense, allowing first-time head coach Kellen Moore to focus on the offense while also providing Moore a road map for how to navigate the challenges that come with the top job.
“It’s a phenomenal opportunity; I feel fortunate to be getting the opportunity to team up with Brandon again,” said Moore, who was Staley’s offensive coordinator for his last season with the Chargers. “His experience as a head coach is really valuable for me. There’s plenty of little nuances and little questions that we get to discuss.”
And, Moore added, Staley’s “expertise on the defensive side is really, really next level,” which will be critical as New Orleans attempts to rebuild its franchise in the first year of a new regime.
Staley arrived to lead a Saints defense that is in flux. After several years of high-end play, New Orleans sagged in its final years under coach Dennis Allen. Things cratered last year, when the Saints allowed more yards than all but two teams. The run defense was a sieve, the pass rush non-existent.
Enter Staley, who will implement an entirely new scheme. In the simplest terms, it will look different because Staley brought a 3-4 base defensive alignment with him. But a more discerning eye will notice the way Staley’s unit disguises its intention at the line of scrimmage, the way it sends rushers from any and every angle, and the way defenders are free to use their eyes and make plays.
The early reviews have been nothing but positive from the players who will play in Staley’s scheme.
“If you’re a real dog, it’s easy to buy into his system,” said linebacker Demario Davis. “... He’s one of them real ones.”
The most interesting comments about Staley have come from those who have been with him in the past. New Orleans stocked Staley’s unit with several role players who have prior experience with him — edge rusher Chris Rumph played under Staley with the Chargers, Isaac Yiadom with the 49ers, Jonathan Bullard with the Bears and practice squad members Jonah Williams and Terrell Burgess with the Rams.
Williams was an undrafted rookie free agent on the 2020 Rams defense that finished No. 1 in both scoring and total defense, vaulting Staley into the national conversation as an up-and-coming head coaching candidate. He said “Staley is still Staley — he knows how to command a room,” but he’s noticed subtle differences in the way Staley is teaching.
It may be because he has experience in the scheme, but Williams sees Staley making things simpler for his players while maintaining the illusion of complexity for opposing offenses.
“Before, we had a lot more (defensive) front adjustments,” Williams said. “We still have those adjustments, but he tries to make it so … there’s a lot more variations for offenses to see. It’s harder for the offense to know what we’re in, but easier for us to line up. So it makes us play faster.”
Staley is quick to point out that a lot has happened since that breakout 2020 season — and Burgess noted that, because of the pandemic, Staley had to teach his defense through a Zoom room. Coaches have to adapt and adjust, or they won’t last long.
“The NFL demands that from you,” Staley said.
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New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, center, slaps hands with safety Julian Blackmon, left, during training camp in Metairie on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune) STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
But some of the way he’s teaching and coaching now relates to his experience in Los Angeles, to the lessons learned, and all the conversations he’s had in between.
Next Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Staley will take his first official step of the second act of his career. The coach who takes the Saints sideline won’t be the same as the one who was dismissed from the Chargers.
“There’s this saying: You don’t need to be old to be wise, but you can’t have wisdom without experience,” Staley said. “That certainly applies to me. The more mistakes you make, the more you learn about how to avoid those and how to create a path specifically for the players, because they’re the most important thing.
“I love coaching players, and I love the game. I’ve been able to get those points across better because I know who I am, I know who I need to be, and I think that comes with more time.”