Brandon Staley Has Landed A New Job

Brandon Staley’s exit from the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2023 season was unceremonious, as the man who was originally hired to fix this team’s long-standing defensive issues was canned immediately after surrendering 63 points in a blowout loss to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders.

After spending a year with the San Francisco 49ers as their assistant head coach, Staley will now be heading south as he has landed a new job for the 2025 season.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared that Staley is being hired as the new defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, where he will once again get a chance to show off what made him one of the most respective defensive minds of his generation.

Saints are hiring Brandon Staley as their Defensive Coordinator, per @RapSheet

Former 49ers and Chargers coach is heading to NOLA pic.twitter.com/0q0kQW0kTY

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 21, 2025

The Saints gave up 23.4 points per game last season, which was 19th in the NFL, and it was at its worst when the team lost seven in a row following a 2-0 start as the defense was getting lit up every week and eventually resulted in head coach Dennis Allen getting fired midseason.

New Orleans is mired in the league’s worst salary cap situation, so it’s unclear what this roster will look like next season, though Staley should at least be returning veteran stalwarts Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis to build around.

The Saints have a lot of work to do to rebound from a disastrous 5-12 season in 2024, and Staley will have his hands full.

The hope is that this new youthful coaching staff can change the culture and renew a sense of hope in the Big Easy that hasn’t existed for quite some time.