It shouldn't be a surprise that the winless LA Chargers couldn't go on the road and beat the defending Super Bowl champions as a touchdown underdog. That doesn't make Sunday's 30-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks any less unbearable, though.
Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Chargers. Justin Herbert threw two terrible interceptions in the first half before turning it around and looking like his old self in the second half. Derius Davis muffed a punt to give Seattle seven free points. The defense did what it could, but failed to execute in several key spots. Jim Harbaugh coached a poor football game. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt left the game early with injuries. The offensive line collapsed.
There wasn't one singular person on the field to blame for Sunday's loss. Instead, the blame goes upstairs. Everything that went wrong with the Chargers falls squarely on general manager Joe Hortiz, who should feel his seat warming in real time as the 2026 season unravels.
Chargers' Week 4 loss encapsulates why Joe Hortiz should be fired
The Chargers hired Joe Hortiz in 2024 shortly after hiring Jim Harbaugh. A long-time scout for the Baltimore Ravens, Hortiz came with a heap of front office experience for one of the most stable franchises in the sport.
But he had no general manager experience. Hortiz was a scout. That lack of experience is showing up in his third season at the helm.
Hortiz put together a masterclass his first offseason. With virtually no financial resources, Hortiz maneuvered the cap and brought in several talented depth pieces to turn the Chargers around from a five-win team to an 11-win team. The only problem is he didn't do much to make the team any better in the two years since.
Every issue the Chargers had on Sunday, and have had over these four games, can be traced back to a decision the Chargers' front office made. No front office is perfect, but it's baffling how badly the Chargers handled the past two offseasons.
Mike McDaniel is struggling on the Chargers because of Joe Hortiz
Mike McDaniel's offense has mightily struggled this season. McDaniel deserves blame, certainly, but Hortiz owns it more. The Chargers hired McDaniel without considering if their offensive weapons, or quarterback, actually fit his scheme. Thus far, it's safe to say those pieces don't fit.
Sure, the Chargers brought in Charlie Kolar, Alec Ingold and Keaton Mitchell to fit McDaniel's vision. But Hortiz also skimped out on the interior offensive line because of the idea that McDaniel could scheme around guard play. Instead of paying for Zion Johnson or Elgton Jenkins, both of whom have been solid this season, the Chargers signed recently released Tyler Biadasz, draft bust Cole Strange, and overdrafted a college center to play left guard.
Yes, the Chargers got unlucky with the Biadasz injury, but he also fell into their lap. It's actually concerning to think what the plan would have been if the Commanders didn't suddenly cut Biadasz. With Hortiz's track record, it may have been a bad plan.
The wide receivers don't fit the scheme and it's baffling what the Chargers are doing at running back. Los Angeles spent a first-round pick on a running back just to use him in a committee in his second season.
First-round running backs are already a risky proposition. A back has to truly turn into a bell-cow option to justify first-round capital. Omarion Hampton is a good player; it's not on him, but it's wasted draft capital to use him as a rotational guy.
And Herbert... well, he deserves some of the blame for not adapting to McDaniel's scheme. A great quarterback should adapt. But did Hortiz ever pause and consider if it was a good fit for his star quarterback? And did he consider the fact that either way, McDaniel was going to be a one-year option?
McDaniel was either going to light the world on fire and leave for a head coaching job, or struggle and lose his job after the 2026 season. Hortiz and the Chargers went all in on a one-year coordinator without going all in to win despite the resources.
Joe Hortiz's negative impact doesn't stop with the offense
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The next item on Contenstant's Row is all the cornerbacks the Chargers spent money on this offseason. Los Angeles lost one of its key cornerbacks, Benjamin St-Juste, and didn't draft a corner in April.
What's that? Oh! The Chargers didn't spend a single dime on a cornerback this offseason. In fact, in an offseason where the team had $100 million in cap space, the only defensive addition the Chargers made in free agency was a rotational nose tackle, Dalvin Tomlinson. The Chargers lost defensive coordinatorJesse Minter, star edge rusher Odafe Oweh, St-Juste, Da'Shawn Hand, and Otito Ogbonnia, and replaced all of that with one $6.5 million free agent and a pair of day-three draft fliers.
The Chargers still have $27.5 million in cap space. In October.
To his credit, Hortiz drafted the best player available, Akheem Mesidor, in the first round to replace Oweh. But that was it. The Chargers re-signed some fringe free agents, but it wasn't enough to move the needle. The defense didn't get better. Mesidor was merely a replacement, not an improvement.
Hortiz also has his hand in the bad special teams pot. The Chargers stuck by coordinator Ryan Ficken despite the unit's struggles last season. Los Angeles doubled down with Derius Davis as the returner and didn't give him much competition. If Davis doesn't muff the punt on Sunday, the Chargers could be 1-3 right now, not 0-4.
Joe Hortiz's passiveness is his ultimate downfall
Joe Hortiz runs the Chargers like someone who wants job security, not someone who wants to go all in on a Super Bowl window. The Chargers' GM has continually given himself more future assets to "extend the window". Whether it be rolled -over cap space or compensatory picks in future drafts, it's all about marginal future assets. It's never about the now.
The Chargers can't go all-in every offseason. Heck, they don't even need to make top-line signings. The last thing the Bolts need is another J.C. Jackson. But the Chargers definitely need more than Hortiz has given them. This is a team with a franchise quarterback who isn't getting any younger.
Smart aggression can win. The Seattle Seahawks were aggressive. The Philadelphia Eagles have always been aggressive. If Hortiz thought this nucleus was good enough to contend for a Super Bowl, well, he had to be aggressive.
But he wasn't. Hortiz treated this Chargers team like it was the same cap-restricted 5-11 team that was simply trying to right the ship. Now, the Chargers find themselves with another ship that must be corrected, and a ton of future assets thanks to Hortiz's frugal nature.
And he shouldn't be the one to use those assets.
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