'It sucks:' Chargers RB Austin Ekeler discusses departures of former coach Brandon Staley, GM Tom Telesco
Austin Ekeler didn't see former head coach Brandon Staley's firing coming.
Staley and former general manager Tom Telesco were dismissed Friday following the Los Angeles Chargers' 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.
The team's star running back and his teammates found out about the news via social media. Staley finished his Chargers tenure with a 24-25 record and one playoff appearance.
"There’s anger, there's confusion, but there's also a sense of, 'We gotta make sure we stay together,'" Ekeler said Monday during the Ekeler's Edge podcast on the "Yahoo Fantasy Football Show." "As a captain on the team, trying to keep people moving forward. ... The game was clearly terrible for us.
"That’s when the coaching stuff started happening. As us players, we don't know about any of this stuff. They're not calling us up like, 'Hey, this is what happened.' I'm finding out from Instagram and Twitter that Tom and Brandon had been let go. It's something I've never had to deal with in any of my years playing football — where you actual get rid of a coach in the season."
Since joining the Chargers in 2017, Ekeler has played for only two coaches: Staley and Anthony Lynn. It was under Staley's tutelage that Ekeler blossomed and turned into a perpetual touchdown machine. In back-to-back seasons, he finished with 1,500-plus scrimmage yards and tallied 38 total touchdowns.
He also attributed his playing for Los Angeles to Telesco, who had been the GM since 2013. Ekeler said he took his departure particularly hard.
"It sucks," Ekeler said. "Tom's the reason I'm even here talking to you guys. Tom's the guy that has the biggest part in setting that 90-man roster. He decided to put me on there No. 3, Austin Ekeler, back in the day a few years ago. My relationship with Tom, over the years, has been pretty tight because of that.
"He obviously believed in me again to bring me back for another contract. ... No one ever thought it would come down to what we're going through right now."
This certainly hasn't been the year Ekeler hoped for when he agreed to a revised contract with Los Angeles in March. Coming into the previous offseason, the seventh-year back was frustrated because he was going into 2023 in the final year of his contract, set to make $6.25 million. He was being paid well below market value for his production as the two-time reigning touchdown leader and asked to be traded in the offseason.
The Chargers allowed his representatives to look around, and they found no market, so Ekeler and Los Angeles agreed to a $1.75 million, incentives-based deal. His earnings were effectively contingent on Ekeler both staying healthy and producing at the level he did the prior seasons.
Neither of those two things has occurred. Ekeler ended up being one of several key players dealing with substantial injuries this season. The 28-year-old missed three games after injuring his ankle in Los Angeles' season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins.
At this point, the 5-9 Chargers are out of playoff contention and limping to the finish line. When the season ends, Ekeler said he'll begin to think about what's next for him. So far this season, he has rushed for 506 yards and five touchdowns on 141 carries and caught 40 passes for 373 yards and a score.
"This is a business, and this is the business side," Ekeler said. "It's the ugly side of football. ... You also learn that the business of the NFL is not safe for anyone — it's straight production, or you get out of there.
"This is my last year of the contract here. I have no idea what's going to happen with me because I still have three games left. ... It comes down to what's the opportunity? I want to have the best opportunity for myself. Does that lie in football, or does that lie somewhere else? Because whatever I put myself in, I'm going to be all-in. It consumes me. I’m talking to my fiancee ... do I lean into football? Do I lean into going post-career?
"It really comes down to what's the situation? How does this look for us? Is it a one-year deal? Is it a two-year deal? What are we trying to do here? Is the money good? ... This is going to be real life for me. ... So these will be the conversations we will be having with GMs and putting it out there, but if we find a good situation, then absolutely coming back and tearing it up again."
