Why was Tom Telesco fired by the Chargers? Revisiting GM’s stint in LA

Tom Telesco is the new general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday, as he wasn't out of a job for long.

Having been fired from the Los Angeles Chargers after a 63-21 beatdown by the Raiders, Telesco now joins the division rivals as he looks to turn the team around after several poor years.

Why was Telesco without a job? What led to his eventual sacking by L.A.?

Let's take a look.

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The timeline of Tom Telesco's firing from the Chargers

Telesco was hired by the Chargers in 2013 as a change was made after A.J. Smith was fired.

At that point, the Chargers had not been to the postseason in four seasons and something had to change. That change was Telesco.

Looking back on his work with the Chargers, Tom Telesco had a decade to turn things around and make San Diego and then L.A. into a playoff-caliber team.

In his first year as Chargers GM in 2013, they made the playoffs and won their first game before losing in the divisional round. Some thought the tide was turning.

But the team did not make it back to the playoffs until 2018 as the underachievement continued under Telesco's watch. Mike McEvoy was the coach when Telesco was hired, and he lasted until 2016 when Anthony Lynn was brought in as McEvoy's last two years with the Chargers yielded 4-12 and 5-11 records.

The pressure was on Telesco to get it right.

Next was Lynn, who was in charge for four seasons and took the Chargers to the playoffs just once despite Telesco giving him weapons like Keenan Allen (2013 draft), Mike Williams (2017 draft), Derwin James Jr. (2018 draft) and Justin Herbert in 2020.

In Lynn's first season with Herbert, the Chargers had a 7-9 record, and he was fired, and it was Brandon Staley's time.

So, Tom Telesco had now been through two head coaches and had seen his team go to the playoffs just twice and also only had four winning seasons.

Telesco tried to get things right through the draft and free agency with the likes of Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson and linebacker Kyle Van Noy, but the shortcomings of the team with Staley in charge were there for all to see.

Staley coached two winning seasons (9-8 and 10-7) but the playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars after being 27-0 up was the one that stung. He was kept on for the 2023 season but lasted 14 games before being fired.

Ultimately, what led Tom Telesco to be fired by the Chargers was that he simply ran out of time. After a decade of underachieving and some misses in free agency, Telesco didn't change the team's trajectory as it went to the playoffs just three times.