By Joel Muhs
Staff writer

The Hutchinson Community College football program continues to launch former coaches into prominent roles in the NFL, and the most recent addition is previous Blue Dragon coach, Brandon Staley.

Sunday night became a night to remember for Staley and the HutchCC community, as Staley was announced by NFL.com to be the next head coach for the Los Angeles Chargers. Staley, a co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach for HutchCC in 2010 and 2011, will be staying in the Los Angeles area after being hired away from the Los Angeles Rams. As their defensive coordinator in the 2020 season, Staley lead the Rams to a top-five defense in the NFL with the help of star players and defensive player of year candidates, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey.

In Staley’s two years at HutchCC, he helped the Blue Dragon defense to the second-ranked scoring defense in 2010 and the third-ranked defense in 2011. Staley coached 14 Blue Dragons to All-Jayhawk Conference honors and helped send three Blue Dragon players to the NFL – Meshak Williams, Toby Johnson and Markus Golden.

“Coach Staley has a way of challenging everyone involved in the program to be the best at their craft,” said HutchCC Athletic Director Josh Gooch.

Gooch served as the Blue Dragons’ offensive coordinator during Staley’s two years at HutchCC. “His spirit is contagious and his passion and energy for the game of football was evident from the first day on campus here at Hutchinson Community College …We are proud and know the Chargers have a great one as their next head football coach.”

Staley has been no stranger to the NFL, as he had stints with the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and then the Los Angeles Rams. Staley could be considered a defensive mastermind, as all of his coaching hires have been on the defensive side of the ball before being hired head coach for the Chargers. Staley heads a strong group of five previous HutchCC football coaches that are currently in the NFL, such as Andy Hill, Shawn Menninga, Brian Natkin and Chris Tabor.

Staley inherits a young, but promising group in a Chargers team that went 7-9 in the 2020 season. Breakout rookie quarterback, Justin Herbert, will headline the team, while star defensive players, Joey Bosa and Derwin James, will lead the defensive side of the ball.

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