COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Tom Telesco and the Los Angeles Chargers spent most of their time “licking their wounds” after a second-half meltdown last Saturday at an AFC Wild Tour game in Jacksonville.
The general manager will only have more time for reflection, with so many questions looming in the off-season.
“To lose in the opening week — any playoff loss hurts, but losing in the first round is tough. Losing the Chargers 31-30 to the Jaguars after squandering a 27-point lead in the second quarter is tough,” Telesco said Thursday of the Chargers’ 31-30 loss in the second quarter. The way we lost.”We didn’t play our best when the best was needed, especially in the second half.”
The biggest question answered shortly after the loss was when owner Dean Spanos retained Telesco and coach Brandon Staley after speculation their jobs were at stake.
Telesco said the speculation—particularly about Staley—was more outside noise than Staley’s opinion inside the organization.
“Maybe that was more your discussion than ours. Our belief in Brandon hasn’t changed. He has our belief. Our players believe in him,” said Telescu. “I understand the season didn’t end quite the way we would have liked it, but he has our full support.”
Staley is 19-16 in two seasons as coach. Yes, the Chargers made the playoffs for the first time in four years with a 10-7 mark, but the team collapsed late for the second year in a row because of some of their decisions.
In his 10 seasons as general manager, Telesco’s record wasn’t much better. He has the eighth longest tenure at GM or de facto GM, but is the only one of those eight not to win a league title or appear in a Super Bowl.
This season marked only the third time the Chargers had made the playoffs with Telesco as GM. His overall record is 81-86.
Telesco was surprised when asked to rate his tenure and had difficulty answering.
“I don’t even know how to answer these questions. We’re trying to put the best possible team on the field,” he said. “There are some positives here. Understand that I’m not sitting here saying I’m worth anything. I work hard at what I do. I put all my time, effort, and energy into this job because if you don’t, you can’t compete at that level.”
One of the things Telesco will address immediately is working with Staley to find a new offensive coordinator after firing Joe Lombardi on Tuesday.
The Chargers are ranked ninth in total offense, but 20th in yardage scrimmage per game, and had the second largest discrepancy in the NFL between passes and running plays (65% passing to 35% running).
Telesco isn’t looking for an even balance between running and passing, especially with Justin Herbert at quarterback, but he wants more consistency with his rushing offense.
“You have to be able to run the football efficiently and effectively, especially in the second half of games where you’re leading. We just couldn’t do that this year,” Telesco said. “Yardage per carry needs to be better. We’ll look at him in the offseason because he has to do better to be a good playoff team.”
Telesco’s other significant assignments during the holiday period will be attempting to submit to a salary cap and initiating discussions with Herbert’s agents about a contract extension.
When informal practices begin in April, there will also be a process to try to prevent a meltdown against the Jaguars, which will cause him a constant headache next season.
“I think it’s all about the people you have here and the mentality you have. It’s a really cliché to say this will motivate us abroad, but I’ll never forget that,” he said. “One really good way of not losing a lead like that is to be able to run the ball better in the second half and get off the field at least once in the second half when defending and taking a kick, things we already knew.
“Myself, I don’t dwell on those negative parts. Brandon and I, as the leaders here, it’s our job to make sure everyone has the right mindset.”
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