Brandon Staley could be a year away from walking away from the New Orleans Saints for another head coaching position if he can get a similar performance out of the defense that he got in 2025.
It feels like forever ago that Staley was one of the hottest coaching candidates on the market. He skyrocketed up the coaching ranks. He made his NFL debut in 2017 and spent three years as a positional coach then one year as a defensive coordinator before being hired as a head coach.
This four year journey to the head coaching ranks is even more impressive when you realize Staley was never more than a grad assistant on the FBS level, seeing most of his experience as a JUCO and D-III coach. He sped to the top of the coaching ranks, and it didn't work out too well for Staley.
Chargers shouldn't hold Brandon Staley back
There were 10 head coaches hired this offseason and nearly half of them had already been head coaches before. Of those second time, and third time, head coaches, Robert Saleh is the best comparison for where Staley is sitting now.
Saleh's initial tenure as a head coach with the New York Jets failed miserably. He took a year to rebuild his stock and now he's getting another shot. If Saleh can get another shot, then it shouldn't be ruled out for Staley either.
We've also already pointed out how quick Staley ascended to being a head coach. He only had a year running an NFL defense before earning the nod. His failure in Los Angeles could easily be attributed to becoming a head coach too soon.
Staley would walk into a second coaching opportunity with much more experience. An argument could be made that he greatly benefitted from coaching Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald with the Rams. That argument can't be used against him for the Saints' defensive success.
New Orleans isn't working with an All-Star class of defenders that everyone expects to succeed. This is a young defense that is looking for a lot of development from key players. They exceeded expectations last year fielding a strong pass defense.
If the run defense catches up to the coverage, the Saints should take another step forward defensively. That plus team success could be all that's needed to push Staley back into head coaching conversations.
Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker has Staley as one of 15 head coaching candidates going into the season. He pointed at the Saints' coverage and limitation of big plays. That's two of the biggest boxes a defense can check, and Staley helped a defense check those boxes more than expected prior to the year. Now, it's just about doing it again.
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