Chargers sticking with Mike McDaniel as play-caller after 0-6 start, Week 7 bye

As the last remaining winless team in the NFL this season, the Los Angeles Chargers desperately need a spark this week.

style="text-align: left;">That jolt will have to come from something other than a change in play-caller.

style="text-align: left;">Coming out of a Week 7 bye, the Chargers are standing pat with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel calling the shots, head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters on Wednesday.

style="text-align: left;">“I feel like every stone, any part that we could look to better, that’s the way we responded,” Harbaugh said Wednesday of his team’s off-week work, according to The Athletic.

style="text-align: left;">McDaniel is in his first go-around as the team’s OC after posting a 35-33 record in four seasons at the helm of the Miami Dolphins. Widely respected as an offensive innovator from the Kyle Shanahan tree, McDaniel was expected to take Justin Herbert’s game to the next level. Instead, the 2020 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowl quarterback has noticeably regressed this season.

Jim Harbaugh said Chargers OC Mike McDaniel will continue to call plays.

— Noah Furtado (@bynoahfurtado) October 28, 2026That outcome wasn’t on your typical 2026 NFL bingo card. After all, McDaniel helped embattled signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa put up some impressive numbers in Miami.

style="text-align: left;">In McDaniel’s first two seasons coaching the Dolphins, they finished 11th and then second in the NFL in points per game. Even as Tagovailoa’s concussions and turnovers hamstrung the Dolphins’ offense down the stretch of McDaniel’s head-coaching tenure, his ability to keep Miami relatively competitive, notably after a 1-6 start last season, made him an attractive coaching candidate this past offseason.

style="text-align: left;">McDaniel’s known for his creativity, specifically when it comes to getting his playmakers in space and letting them go to work. His schematic ingenuity was a big reason why he was pursued heavily last winter.

style="text-align: left;">It’s also why he was seemingly a great fit for Herbert, who had teased greatness but had yet to fully realize his potential and deliver in the postseason.

style="text-align: left;">Back in late January, McDaniel effused about Herbert and noted that the now-28-year-old hadn’t neared his ceiling. He also expressed that finding easier completions for the Oregon product was on the docket for the 2026 campaign.

style="text-align: left;">McDaniel talked about installing low-cost, high-reward plays that would protect Herbert and not ask him to be the superhero he’s so often had to be since entering the league six years ago as the No. 6 overall pick.

style="text-align: left;">After six games, though, Herbert’s 59.4% completion rate is by far the worst of his career. It’s 28th among qualifying passers this season. For reference, Herbert finished each of his previous six seasons with a completion percentage north of 65%.

style="text-align: left;">Plus, Herbert’s till getting roughed up. He’s been sacked 21 times, tied for the third most of any QB this season. And, among qualifying passers, he’s facing the fifth-highest pressure rate (42.1%), according to Next Gen Stats.

style="text-align: left;">It’s important to note that the Chargers’ injury luck, or lack thereof, has continued to haunt their offensive line. Before the regular season kicked off, center Tyler Biadasz went on injured reserve after he suffered damage to his ACL and additional injuries to his left knee in a joint training camp practice. Earlier this month, L.A. placed left tackle Rashawn Slater on IR following his surgery to address an ankle injury he sustained late in a Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

style="text-align: left;">Granted those injuries, along with others have dealt with McDaniel with a worse deck — and raised serious questions about the roster general manager Joe Hortiz constructed — but they haven’t completely absolved McDaniel of blame when it’s come to ascertaining his offense’s shortcomings.

style="text-align: left;">Herbert’s struggles are at the center of the dire concern surrounding McDaniel’s long-term viability as Chargers OC.

style="text-align: left;">Not only is he still under immense duress and now logging an uncharacteristically low completion percentage, but he’s also throwing an alarmingly high volume of interceptions. Herbert’s eight picks are tied for a league high. He’s tossed just five touchdowns along the way, and the Chargers are dead last in the NFL in points per game (15) and 28th in total yards of offense per game (287.2).

style="text-align: left;">Some of Herbert’s interceptions have been downright head-scratching, like the one he fired right to Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV during a 30-23 defeat. The week before that, the Chargers fell to a Buffalo Bills team that committed five turnovers. That was after L.A. lost games to the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals.

style="text-align: left;">Following the Chargers’ loss to the Seahawks, Harbaugh defended McDaniel, stating that his OC’s job was “not in jeopardy,” despite the team’s 0-4 start.

style="text-align: left;">But after a Week 6 setback to the Kansas City Chiefs dropped the Chargers to 0-6 — their worst start since 2000 — Harbaugh said they would "have to address everything, and especially, offensively."

style="text-align: left;">He took the bye week to think things over. For now, however, McDaniel will keep calling plays.

style="text-align: left;">“We’re very confident in Mike and his talent, his work ethic and his ability,” Harbaugh said, per The Athletic. “We continue to be.”