Chargers interim coach Giff Smith embraces his new challenge

Chargers interim coach Giff Smith talks to the media after practice Tuesday in Costa Mesa

Staff Writer

Dec. 19, 2023 5:16 PM PT

He stepped before the assembled media Tuesday for the first time as an interim NFL head coach and sounded as if he was ready for the assignment.

Well, almost.

“I wish that I would’ve lost some weight a few weeks back,” Giff Smith said, smiling. “That would have been a positive. I wasn’t expecting this.”

He opened with a joke, the Chargers’ latest leader did, Smith making his news conference debut after leading the team through its first practice since Brandon Staley was fired Friday.

In his eighth year with the team, Smith was promoted from coaching edge rushers to guiding the 5-9 Chargers through their final three games.

A former defensive end out of Georgia Southern, Smith began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 1991. He has been in the NFL since joining the staff in Buffalo in 2010.

“I’ve been in this game a while and there are always new things that come up,” said Smith, 55. “You just roll with it. You give to these players. You give to this organization. Then, whatever happens, happens.”

The Chargers play at SoFi Stadium on Saturday night against the Bills, then finish against Denver on the road and Kansas City at home. They opened the season with lofty expectations but sit 13th in the AFC.

Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired hours after the Chargers lost 63-21 at Las Vegas, the team’s fifth defeat in six games. Staley was in his third year with the Chargers and Telesco his 11th.

“It definitely was sad because when you’re going through something with somebody for three years, it’s tough,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “You always think about the good times you had.”

Many of the players were not at the facility Friday after Staley and Telesco were let go. They then had the weekend off before reconvening at the team’s Costa Mesa headquarters Monday.

Staley’s decline was swift and steep. Last season, he led the Chargers to their first playoff appearance in four years but, in the wild-card round, they blew a 27-0 lead and lost 31-30 at Jacksonville.

The 2023 Chargers never came together, particularly on defense, which was Staley’s speciality. His future with the franchise had been in doubt going back to the first third of the season as the Chargers opened 2-4.

“You put everything into this,” quarterback Easton Stick said. “So, when it doesn’t go well, I certainly feel responsible. I know that all of our guys do. It means that everybody failed, and that part sucks because those guys mean a lot to us.”

Chargers quarterback Easton Stick passes the ball against the Raiders on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Smith’s message to the team this week has been to remain as one and continue to compete. Team president John Spanos said Monday that his desire is to win each of the final three games and not worry about an improved draft position.

Entering Week 16, the Bills, Broncos and Chiefs all are battling for postseason possibilities, meaning the Chargers right now aren’t looking at any meaningless games ahead.

“It’s important for us to make sure that we keep together, stay together, don’t let anything divide us,” running back Austin Ekeler said. “We still have a job to do.”

Smith worked as an assistant at five colleges before spending the last 13 years in the NFL. Along with the Bills and Chargers, he has worked with the Tennessee Titans.

He was an associate head coach for a stretch at Tulane but otherwise has been a position coach. While expressing his appreciation for the opportunity, Smith said he doesn’t have time to ponder the significance of taking over a team.

“I’m a football coach,” he said. “You have a game this week, and you want to get this team ready to play in the game. The time for reflection will be in three weeks, really.

“I just want to do right by the Spanos family, by this organization, but most importantly, by these players, put them in a position to compete and to win come Saturday night.”

Smith has been with the Chargers longer than any of the other assistant coaches. His tenure spans the franchise’s last three head coaches — Staley, Anthony Lynn and Mike McCoy.

His promotion allowed the Chargers to keep coordinators Kellen Moore (offense), Derrick Ansley (defense) and Ryan Ficken (special teams) in place and limit disruption.

“This place matters to him,” Stick said of Smith. “People in the building know him, and they know him well. They know that he cares.”

A football lifer, Smith said he had heard from several coaches in recent days offering their support and best wishes. He was asked if any particular piece of advice stuck out.

“I thought that [former Dallas and Buffalo head coach] Chan Gailey had a great one,” Smith answered. “He said, ‘All of those suggestions and thoughts that you had are now decisions. Good luck.’”

‘You just roll with it.’ Chargers interim coach Giff Smith embraces new challenge

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