The Los Angeles Chargers‘ season is beyond saving, and instead of making some expected roster changes, head coach Jim Harbaugh is still defending OC Mike McDaniel.
“It’s a team effort,” Harbaugh said following another 24-9 wipeout loss to the Rams on Sunday, per The Athletic’s Noah Furtado.
His answer to Mike McDaniel continuing to call the plays was more upsetting.
Jim Harbaugh Says Mike McDaniel Will Still Call Plays in Week 9
“Yes,” he said, without blinking, when asked if McDaniel will still call plays in Week 9.
Their offensive struggles stayed the same coming out of the bye week. “We’ll consider everything,” Harbaugh had said heading into their bye week, and then things looked the same in Week 8.
Harbaugh’s insistence on keeping McDaniel calling plays is even more staggering given the absolute zero return on their Week 7 bye. After spending the entire off-week conducting marathon 4-hour film study sessions between McDaniel and Justin Herbert to fix the league’s worst unit, the Chargers responded by putting up a blank sheet in the second half against the Rams, managing just 15 total points over their last two full games combined.
Herbert threw two interceptions in their seventh-straight loss, and any hope that the bye week would help the offense quickly vanished as the Chargers hit another low of going two straight games without scoring a touchdown.
“We’re aware of what the issues are, and we’re the only ones that can fix them,” Harbaugh said. “Uh, yes, not gonna address anything. I’m focused on this game and that’s my focus,” Harbaugh responded.
Reporters even pressed him on the rationale for still keeping McDaniel in charge of the offense.
“Yeah, our motivation is a dedication to getting it changed, getting it fixed,” he added. Harbaugh’s evasiveness in response to the question prompted further probing from the press.
“I said I’m focused on this game. We’re gonna go watch this tape, and I believe in our guys, I believe in our players, our coaches,” Harbaugh asserted.
Chargers Playing Huge Gamble
By refusing to strip McDaniel of play-calling duties or make a staff change, Harbaugh is risking the locker room to preserve coordinator continuity. The run game has completely fallen off a cliff. None of the backfield options is averaging even 3.0 yards per carry, forcing an injured, heavily pressured Herbert to carry a system that defenses have completely figured out.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s part of the game, and it’s the unfortunate part of where we’re at. And I’d love to have played better and made better decisions, but, you know, I haven’t, and that’s something I have to work on and continue to get better at,” Herbert said, repeating the same old things he said last week when defending McDaniel.
Week 9 brings a 2-5 Texans team to town, offering what should be a get-right spot for a desperate offense. But if McDaniel’s unit lays another egg against Houston, Harbaugh will simply have no answers in front of the owners, let alone the Chargers fan base.
Dean Spanos might be forced to push their own hand in either overriding Harbaugh and firing McDaniel, or wiping the entire slate clean by shipping out Harbaugh, Herbert, and McDaniel and building the entire thing from the ground up.
Jim Harbaugh Refuses to Hold Mike McDaniel Accountable for Chargers’ 0-7 Collapse