The Chargers Can Fire Mike McDaniel, But Then What?

It's funny, in hindsight, that the first two seasons of Jim Harbaugh's Chargers tenure were considered disappointments. The team won 11 games in each of those seasons and made the playoffs, but two dispiriting losses in the wild-card round produced a feeling that the Chargers were doing themselves a disservice by not striving for more. So out went Greg Roman, the only offensive coordinator Jim Harbaugh had ever worked with in the pros, and in came Mike McDaniel to rebuild the offense. If you want to admit it now, that's OK. This is a safe space. You can raise your hand and say, "Yes, the thought, 'Mike McDaniel might really cook with Justin Herbert as his quarterback,' entered my head at some point between the months of July and August 2026." Nobody's going to blame you for that. Yes, McDaniel lost his job as the Dolphins' head coach in rather pathetic fashion, but there was a period there when he had the Fins playing some electric offensive football, all while Tua Tagovailoa was his quarterback. Let this guy get back to his roots as a coordinator, give him a 6-foot-6 All-Pro quarterback who can make every kind of throw, and you should have something special on your hands. There has been absolutely nothing special about the Chargers this season. They scored six points against the Chiefs on Sunday and are now 0-6 on the season. They are averaging 15 points per game and have been held under 300 total yards of offense in half their games. Herbert is playing like Mac Jones with vertigo. He has yet to throw for 300 yards in a game, his completion percentage is six points below his career average, and he is leading the league with eight interceptions. He's also getting tenderized; the 21 sacks he's taken so far have him on pace to blow past the 54 he suffered in 16 games last season.

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