The Chargers Appear to Be Moving Forward With Mike McDaniel

It appears the Los Angeles Chargers may be moving forward with Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator, at least for the time being. After Sunday’s embarrassing 22-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs dropped the team to 0-6, speculation surrounding McDaniel’s job security reached a boiling point. However, McDaniel was spotted at Chargers practice on Tuesday, seemingly putting an axe to the idea that he was about to be fired.

That doesn’t necessarily mean McDaniel is completely safe, but it certainly suggests the Chargers are willing to give him more time to figure things out. With the team entering its bye week, this would have been an obvious opportunity for Jim Harbaugh to make a change if he believed a new voice was necessary to get the offense back on track.

Instead, McDaniel remains with the team as the Chargers attempt to find answers to an offense that has been one of the worst in the NFL.

The decision is certainly interesting considering how poorly things have gone through the first six games. The Chargers have yet to win a game, and the offense has consistently failed to capitalize on the talent available. Justin Herbert is having the worst stretch of his career, turnovers have become a major problem and the unit has struggled to find any sort of consistency.

Sunday’s loss to Kansas City was arguably the breaking point. The Chargers failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season and managed just six points against a division rival. That performance led to legitimate questions about whether McDaniel would survive the bye week.

Harbaugh didn’t exactly provide a vote of confidence when asked about his offensive coordinator after the game. He said the team would look at everything and made it clear that an 0-6 start meant nothing could be ruled out. Those comments naturally fueled speculation that McDaniel could be on his way out.

However, the latest development suggests the organization may be leaning toward giving him another opportunity.

There are certainly arguments for keeping McDaniel around. The Chargers brought him in during the offseason to modernize the offense and help get Herbert back to playing at an elite level. Firing him after only six games would mean another coaching change for Herbert, who has already dealt with multiple offensive coordinators throughout his career.

At the same time, patience only goes so far when a team is winless and the offense continues to look completely lost. McDaniel was hired to fix these problems, not create new ones. If the Chargers are going to turn their season around, the improvement needs to happen quickly.

Perhaps the bye week will give McDaniel and the offensive coaching staff an opportunity to simplify the playbook, improve communication and find ways to put Herbert in better positions to succeed. Harbaugh has acknowledged that the team is evaluating everything offensively, including how much information players are being asked to process.

That could be an important first step, especially given the pre-snap penalties, turnovers and overall lack of execution that have plagued this group.

Ultimately, seeing McDaniel at practice doesn’t guarantee his job is safe for the remainder of the season. The Chargers could still make changes if things don’t improve. However, for now, it appears they are willing to give him more time rather than immediately pulling the plug.

The bigger question is whether McDaniel can make that patience worthwhile. The Chargers are already 0-6, and there is very little room for further disappointment. If he is going to remain in charge of the offense, the upcoming games need to look dramatically different.

For now, the Chargers appear to be sticking with McDaniel. Whether that turns out to be the right decision will depend on what happens next.