“His job is not in jeopardy,” Jim Harbaugh said of Mike McDaniel’s hot-seat pressure after the Chargers fell to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Others are having a hard time believing it.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes the seat is getting hotter for McDaniel. Or Harbaugh. Or Justin Herbert. Or all three of them. But someone has to take the blame if Week 5 goes just as bad as the previous 4.
“Yeah, barring a massive turnaround, you have to think someone ends up in trouble with the Chargers,” Graziano writes. “Head coach? GM? Quarterback? All of the above? Also, what happens if things turn really bad in Philadelphia?”
Just Mike McDaniel or Jim Harbaugh on the Hot Seat too?
There was a slight sliver of hope, though, in the offense’s revival last week.
Down 27-6 in Seattle, the Chargers easily could’ve packed it in. Instead, the second half offered the first real sign of life from this offense all year.
Faced with a broken front five, Los Angeles ditched the slow-developing drops and went up-tempo. Justin Herbert got the ball out on a string—hitting Oronde Gadsden II underneath and finding Kimani Vidal out of the backfield—while Omarion Hampton ground out tough second-half yards.
A 16-play fourth-quarter drive cut a blowout down to a one-score finish. It didn’t fix an 0-4 start, but that second-half fight proved the offense still has a heartbeat heading into Denver.
Almost as if a faint outline of things falling into place, and Justin Herbert finally fitting into McDaniel’s offense.
It still needs a ton of work, but their next opponents, the Denver Broncos, should be a bit easier on the offense in case the Chargers want their first win this season.
“He’s a skilled coach, and we’re going to keep growing,” Harbaugh added on McDaniel when talking about his job being in jeopardy. “The plan did not work to result in a victory, and we’ll go back and plan some more with the skilled coaches we have and the talented players and fight. That’s what gives me optimism.”
Why Jim Harbaugh isn’t Calling out Mike McDaniel
Harbaugh isn’t going to scapegoat his offensive coordinator four weeks into a season.
Harbaugh’s $16M-per-year contract gives him ultimate job security, meaning he sets the timeline. Taking the fall for McDaniel right now would mean admitting his own coaching hire failed before Halloween.
That’s why he has been stubbornly defending McDaniel’s scheme from Week 1, pointing to second-half adjustments like the Seattle comeback attempt, until the front office forces his hand at the end of the year.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler agrees with the same.
“It feels like someone will shoulder the blame in Los Angeles,” Fowler writes. “Harbaugh has a massive five-year deal (reportedly worth $80 million) and has built up sweat equity with back-to-back 11-win seasons. Perhaps the Chargers would ask him to stay on and rebuild the staff this offseason, depending on how things look over the next few months. And things look bleak, to be clear. But he essentially just rebuilt the staff, so not sure that’s a solution.”
The Week 5 vs. Broncos is a critical win for the Chargers, their season will be as good as over, with the Chiefs in Week 6 and the Rams in Week 8, with a bye in between.
Chargers Mike McDaniel Gets Clear Hot-Seat Warning Despite Jim Harbaugh’s Statement