LA Chargers

Travis Kelce's not losing his mind over his stat line like the rest of the world ... saying despite having the best outing of his season on Sunday, the only number he gives a damn about is the one in the win column.

The All-Pro tight end addressed his seven-catch, 89-yard performance in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on the latest episode of his "New Heights" podcast with brother, Jason, on Wednesday ... which was surprisingly the strongest performance of the 2024 campaign for the usually dominant force.

Travis admitted the narrative of his struggles on the field leading up to the Week 4 contest were true ... but only in one area.

There was plenty of action on the field during the Chargers vs. Raiders game Sunday -- but there was even more of it off the gridiron ... with fans from both teams getting in violent brawls throughout the afternoon.

One of the bigger ones happened just outside of SoFi Stadium near one of the parking lots ... when a fan in a Divine Deablo jersey got thrown to the ground by a Chargers supporter rocking some Derwin James threads.

You can see in video captured by a bystander, a Maxx Crosby fan tried to step in to break things up ... but he was quickly hit in the face by not just the Raiders fan -- but a woman too.

The Chiefs sure looked like the best team in the AFC once again on Thursday night -- but Shawne Merriman tells TMZ Sports anyone who thinks the Chargers can't knock them off is simply delusional.

The Bolts legend didn't mince words when we caught up with him on Friday -- just hours after Kansas City knocked off Baltimore in a thrilling season-opener -- saying straight up, "If you're looking over the Chargers in this division, you're crazy."

Of course, Merriman's a bit biased -- he's remained a huge Chargers supporter even in retirement -- but he's adamant the feeling around this year's Los Angeles team under Jim Harbaugh is just different.

Jaleel White -- who famously played Steve Urkel -- absolutely did do that ... finally tying the knot with his longtime partner in a gorgeous country club ceremony over the weekend.

The actor -- best known as the lovable nerd in the hit '90s sitcom "Family Matters" -- married Nicoletta Ruhl at Los Angeles' Riviera Country Club on Saturday -- this according to People, which shared tons of photos from the sunny outdoor wedding.

The outlet reports 175 people showed up to see Ruhl and White make it official ... with festivities including five-star food, three DJs spread throughout the day and lots of good times with the people who mean the most to the happy couple.

Fantasy Football nerds, listen up ... Jake Plummer says he's expecting a monster year from Justin Herbert -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks Jim Harbaugh will get the very best out of the Chargers star.

Plummer played in the NFL at the same time as Harbaugh in the late 1990s -- and it's clear as day he grew a ton of respect for the Bolts' head man. So much so, he believes Herbert's game will soar to new heights under his tutelage.

The former Arizona State star quarterback says because Harbaugh wasn't the most athletic signal-caller, he grew a massive football IQ ... and he anticipates that being passed on easily to Herbert.

3:41 PM -- It turns out Joey Bosa was correct in his defeat at the hands of Jaws ... but he was much closer than he predicted -- finishing seventh place with 152 pistachios in 8 minutes, while Joey Chestnut finished tied for fifth with 167.

James Webb was the big winner on the day ... downing a whopping 338 nuts!!

NFL star Joey Bosa is a quarterback's nightmare on the football field, but he admits he's no match for Joey Chestnut ... telling TMZ Sports he's predicting to take an L from the professional eater in Monday's pistachio contest.

The Los Angeles Chargers defensive weapon will be participating in the second annual Wonderful Pistachios Get Crackin' Eating Championship on the Santa Monica Pier ... where he will have eight minutes to out-eat opponents for the title and a $10k prize.

Bosa -- who recorded 6.5 sacks in nine games this past season -- jokes he may have a future in eating nuts for a living ... saying, "Forget football. This is my calling right here. Pistachios."

He has some tough competition, though ... including Nick Wehry, James Webb, Bartley Weaver, Darrien Thomas ... and, of course, Chestnut, who Bosa feels is unbeatable when it comes to eating contests.

The dude is setting the bar pretty low for himself ... telling us he just wants to make it out alive.

"I don't really care where I place," the 28-year-old says. "My main goal is to not choke and die on a pistachio in front of a bunch of people."

"If I could accomplish that, then it's a win in my book."

But the pistachio contest isn't the start of something new for Bosa -- he says we won't be seeing him at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest anytime soon.

"I'll stick with the healthy snacks."

Shawne Merriman says the Chargers knocked it out of the park with their Jim Harbaugh hire ... telling TMZ Sports he believes his ex-team now has a feeling of, "'Hey, we can go out and win a championship now!'"

The former pass rusher was fired up when we spoke with him shortly after the Bolts named the ex-Michigan coach their new head man ... explaining to us he thinks L.A. is now a real-deal Super Bowl contender.

Merriman says the roster Harbaugh is inheriting is "the most talented team to never make the playoffs" ... and he's expecting a turnaround to happen relatively swiftly.

"If I'm Jim Harbaugh, I'm licking my chops," Merriman said. "I'm walking in there one day like somebody just handed me the keys to a Ferrari and I'm about to slam on the gas, right?"

As for the fit, Merriman previously expressed concerns about Harbaugh's ability to connect with young players at 60 years old ... but it seems those qualms have been squashed since the hiring process officially kicked off a few weeks ago.

"It's just a match made in heaven," he said. "I don't think there could've been more of a perfect storm."

Merriman also expressed gratitude that his former team passed on the opportunity to sign Bill Belichick ... believing the fit just wouldn't have worked in the City of Angels.

Cameron Dicker The Kicker looked more like Cameron Dicker The Chugger on Sunday night ... 'cause the Chargers star ripped off his shirt and gulped down an entire beer in seconds while at the Ducks game!!

The 23-year-old -- who made 94 percent of his field goal attempts for LA this season -- made the trek down to Anaheim to catch the Ducks' tilt against the Rangers ... and it didn't take long for him to send the crowd into a frenzy.

While appearing on the Honda Center's jumbotron in the second period ... he ditched his top and sucked down all of his suds while his buds joined in.

After he finished the beverage, he held up his jersey and fired up everyone in attendance.

Unfortunately for Dicker and the Ducks, the home team wasn't able to use the burst of energy to pull out a win ... Anaheim went on to lose the game, 5-2.

But, Dicker had a blast regardless ... writing on his IG page that it was all "a great time."

Ex-NFL star Marcellus Wiley is taking a firm stance on who should take over for the Los Angeles Chargers ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks Bill Belichick should NOT be the next head coach.

The Bolts job is arguably the most attractive opening in the league right now ... and many are speculating they could land a big fish like the former Patriots legend or Michigan's Jim Harbaugh if he chooses to make a return to the pros.

We asked the TV personality about those two names specifically ... and while he considers Belichick the greatest coach of all time, he says Harbaugh is the right guy for the gig.

"It's gonna be tough with the Chargers, obviously," Wiley said at LAX. "We're looking for a coach that we can look into the future with. With Belichick, how far are you going to look into the future? I don't know."

Wiley points out there's still a debate whether Belichick or Tom Brady was more responsible for the Patriots' six Super Bowl wins ... and his style of coaching may not resonate with the locker room.

Harbaugh -- who's fresh off a national championship with the Wolverines -- hasn't announced whether he will be back in Ann Arbor next season ... but Wiley thinks his postgame comments mean he's as good as gone.

As for his former team, Wiley -- who played in San Diego from 2001-2003 -- thinks they're an easy fix under Harbaugh ... making him the perfect guy to replace fired coach Brandon Staley.

"With Justin Herbert, he's top 5 talent," he added. "He just needs everybody else. First, he's gotta stay healthy and then everybody else just kinda stay healthy and stay on page. With Staley, it was fun ... but a little too much gambling. It started to cost us. People stopped believing him, the doubt creeped in, then he just lost his way. That's what happens."

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce both traveled more than a thousand miles to end up in the same city ... but they spent the night apart.

Taylor's in L.A. for the Golden Globes Sunday night, and Travis is in town for Chiefs vs. Chargers around the same time.

Taylor, along with pals Brittany Mahomes and Lyndsay Bell, hit up Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Bev Hills Saturday night, sans Travis. It makes sense ... Travis is getting ready for the game, and a night out would have made the wrong kind of headlines.

They entered Spago from the back alley after leaving from Taylor's Bev Hills estate.

The lowdown from inside the restaurant ... nothing spectacular. They laughed, they talked, they ate. She apparently, was a bit preoccupied on her phone ... hmmm, wonder who she was texting?

It's highly unlikely Taylor will attend the game ... the red carpet starts at 3:30 and Travis's game starts around 2 hours earlier ... that is, unless she goes to the Golden Globes in a Chiefs jacket!

As for the girls' night out ... it was a long one. They arrived at 7:30 and left at 11.

Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen still appear to be a thing ... 'cause the actress was spotted jetting from L.A. to Buffalo on Saturday just minutes after the QB beat the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

It's unclear if the "Starving" singer -- who wore a black hoodie and a mask during her airport travels -- was in attendance for Allen's win over the Bolts while in the City of Angels, but given the time, date and place of her flight to New York ... it seems likely.

Of course, that would appear to mean she and Allen are still very much dating -- this after they were first seen together in the spring.

You'll recall, the two had a bit of a romantic dinner date in May that was captured on camera -- and a few weeks later, they were seen packing on the PDA while vacationing in Mexico.

The couple has somehow avoided much of the public eye since -- though her flight over the weekend sure appears to indicate they're still going strong.

Allen was previously in a long-term relationship with Brittany Williams ... but they broke up following his 2022 season. Steinfeld, meanwhile, had dated Niall Horan in the past, though they split in 2018.

If Shawne Merriman was in Dean Spanos' shoes, he would NOT hire Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh to replace Brandon Staley ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks his former team needs to go younger with its next hire.

Of course, both coaching veterans have been rumored to be on the Bolts' radar following Staley's firing on Friday ... but Merriman made it clear, he would prefer it if L.A. looked elsewhere.

"The game has gotten much younger," the ex-Chargers pass rusher said. "If you look around, a lot of these head coaches are younger. They relate well to the players."

Belichick is 71 years old, while Harbaugh is 59 ... ages that Merriman obviously thinks just won't cut it when it comes to directing guys like 25-year-old Justin Herbert or 27-year-old Derwin James on the field.

But, don't get it twisted, he still loves both guys and their résumés -- he just said, "I don't know if that's the proper move in this situation."

"I really don't."

Merriman didn't have any names that he would rather hire -- though he did say he wants no part of being considered for the role ... as he's a bit preoccupied with his MMA promotion, Lights Out, which has a big event coming up on January 6.

Losing by 42 points to the lowly Raiders was apparently the last straw for Brandon Staley in Los Angeles ... 'cause the Chargers just revealed they've fired their head coach after the embarrassing defeat.

The final decision came down on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the Staley-led Chargers were whooped, 63-21, in Las Vegas.

Bolts honcho Dean Spanos announced in addition to giving Staley the axe, he's also booting general manager Tom Telesco following the historic L as well.

"I want to thank Tom and Brandon for their hard work, dedication and professionalism, and wish both them and their great families nothing but the best," Spanos said.

"These decisions are never easy, nor are they something I take lightly -- especially when you consider the number of people they impact. We are clearly not where we expect to be, however, and we need new vision."

Of course, many expected these moves to come down -- because, after all, Thursday Night Football loss aside, Staley's three years as head man of the Chargers have been largely disappointing.

He piled up a mere 24-24 record in two-plus seasons despite having one of the most talented teams in the league ... and some of his losses -- including a disastrous collapse to the Jaguars in last season's playoffs -- have been soul-crushing.

In fact, Staley said in the postgame press conference Thursday night even he wasn't sure his job was safe.

Just win hydrate, baby!

Mark Davis appeared to take his water consumption very seriously during his Raiders' game against the Chargers on Thursday night -- seemingly putting away SEVEN bottles of H2O in his suite seat!!!

Davis' eyebrow-raising beverage choices were brought to light at some point during Vegas' win over the Bolts ... when cameras captured him at Allegiant Stadium with an insane number of empty bottles lined up on a ledge in front of his luxury box chair.

It's, of course, unclear whether he was the one who put them all away or if it was a team effort with others nearby ... as Davis was only seen sippin' from a cup on camera. Although it's probably a safe bet to assume he at least had most of them.

Social media users had plenty of fun with the sight -- with one writing on X, "Mark Davis out here collecting water bottles like they're infinity stones."

Another user said simply, "Mark Davis f***ing loves water."

Los Chargers están en último lugar de la tabla y prácticamente todo el mundo cree que es inevitable que el entrenador Brandon Staley pierda su trabajo y de acuerdo con Antonio Gates, uno de los mejores jugadores en la historia de la franquicia, eso sería un error.

TMZ Sports se encontró con el jugador a principios de esta semana en Los Ángeles, quien pasó sus 16 temporadas en los Bolts, y le preguntamos si era hora de que Staley de un paso al costado después de otra temporada decepcionante en el sur de California.

"Yo personalmente no creo que [el entrenador deba ser despedido]", nos dijo Antonio Gates.

El candidato al Salón de la Fama explicó su razonamiento: "Solo por la relación que tiene con los jugadores. ¿Puedes conseguir que los chicos jueguen para ti? Siento que Staley tiene una buena relación con los jugadores, y creo eso porque he estado en ese vestuario".

Staley ha sido el entrenador desde la temporada 2021 y aunque el equipo está lleno de talentos, incluyendo la estrella Justin Herbert, el equipo ha tenido dificultades para conseguir éxitos en la post temporada. La temporada pasada, los Chargers, con 10 victorias, perdieron ante los Jaguares de Jacksonville en la ronda de Wild Card, y este año ha sido un desastre.

Las cosas han ido tan mal para el equipo 4-7, que la conversación sobre quién podría sustituir a Staley es casi constante después de su casi garantizada desaparición y Bill Belichick está a menudo en la parte superior de la lista.

Las cosas no van precisamente bien para el entrenador ganador de 6 Super Bowl (8 en total) en la otra costa. Según los informes, Bill y el propietario Robert Kraft han tenido tensiones y no es una locura pensar que Belichick se alejará o incluso será despedido después de la temporada 2023.

Le preguntamos a Gates si cree que Belichick encajaría bien en Los Ángeles.

"Creo que Belichick es un ganador histórico y probado. ¿Por qué no sería bueno para cualquier equipo? No sé cómo sería ahora la transición de los entrenadores de la vieja escuela. Yo vengo de esa mentalidad de la vieja escuela, pero no sé si estos chicos pueden comprometerse con ese estilo de juego. No estoy seguro. No lo sé".

"Pero lo que sí sabemos es que es un ganador probado. Simplemente, no sé si su estilo de juego todavía se considera valioso en la Liga Nacional de Fútbol".

A los Chargers les quedan 6 partidos, incluyendo un enfrentamiento con los Pats este domingo.