Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh tiptoed around questions regarding offensive coordinator's Mike McDaniels future in calling plays for his team after another humiliating loss
Jim Harbaugh
The Mike McDaniel-Jim Harbaugh experiement hasn't worked for the Chargers this year(Image: Getty Images)
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The Los Angeles Chargers dropped a sixth straight game to start the 2026 season with a lifeless 22-6 road defeat to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.
Once again, the Mike McDaniel-led Chargers offense fell completely flat — the team is averaging just 15 points per game. Los Angeles could only muster 228 yards of total offense. Just like last week, head coach Jim Harbaugh, who can't return to college football even if he wanted, fielded questions about McDaniel's job security.
The Chargers head coach couldn't say his offensive coordinator was totally safe, giving a wordy answer with little substance. As the "growing buzz" loudens around McDaniels's job security, this might not bode well.
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"I’m just going to ask point blank, is Mike going to continue calling plays?" a reporter asked Harbaugh. "We're going to look at everything; the job I'm doing starts with me," he answered.
"We'll watch this [game back] and get with our offensive coaches. I see the effort, I see the work being put in in the meetings, on the practice field, and to get that to translate to the field is what's necessary," he continued. "Feel bad for our players, our team, our coaches, our fans. And [offense] needs to be addressed."
The Chargers inked McDaniels to an undisclosed multi-year contract this offseason. He spent the last four seasons as the Miami Dolphins head coach and was one of the most in-demand coordinators on the market.
Shifting to a pre-snap-heavy, speed-based McDaniels offense was always going to be a tough transition for quarterback Justin Herbert, who spent the last few seasons in a more archaic, methodical Greg Roman system.
Justin Herbert
Justin Herbert was sacked four times by the Chiefs defense on Sunday(Image: Getty Images)
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The Los Angeles passer completed 22 of his 37 passes for 204 yards and an interception. Herbert still flashes the occasional brilliance — his 57-yard strike to Quentin Johnston was one of the best days of the week — but his consistency has been way worse.
His season-long 29.9 QBR ranks 33rd amongst all NFL quarterbacks. Herbert has the lowest completion percentage, lowest yards per completion, and worst touchdown-to-interception ratio of his seven-year career in 2027.
When asked what isn't working for him this year, Herbert simply answered. "I don't know.....If I had the answers, then we'd definitely be having a different conversation."
The Chargers have the bye week to collect themselves before they serve as the nominal "away" team in an all-Los Angeles matchup against the 2-4 Rams. By then, special offensive assistant Adam Gase could be calling plays.