The Los Angeles Chargers didn't make any major coaching changes during the bye week.
At 0-6, that must've come as somewhat of a surprise for much of the league. The adjustment to the demands of Mike McDaniel's offense has come with a steep learning curve, and the implementation of that scheme, across six games, has been absolutely horrendous. Heading into Week 8, the Chargers are dead last in EPA/play, and by most metrics, they are absolutely the worst offense in the league.
Under most circumstances, this would result in the firing of a coordinator. But there are some clear extenuating circumstances here.
Firstly, the Chargers bought relatively fully into McDaniel's West Coast-style scheme this offseason, tailoring the roster around his needs—even if they didn't break the bank to do so. Secondly, Los Angeles doesn't truly have anyone in the fold that they trust to call plays outside of McDaniel. Jim Harbaugh is a non play-calling head coach, and their only other option would likely be pass game coordinator Adam Gase.
McDaniel, then, likely gets to stay on until the end of the season. If Los Angeles was going to make the move to fire him, it would've come during their bye week.
Obviously, that doesn't mean his job is safe once we reach the offseason. Far from it. But it does mean he'll get 11 more chances to give this offense a glimmer of hope—and that's the risk Los Angeles seems willing to take by keeping McDaniel on for the remainder of the season.
The only true disaster left for the Chargers is if thing somehow get worse under Mike McDaniel
Needless to say, at 0-6, postseason play is already out of the picture for Los Angeles. The only thing they have to lose by keeping McDaniel on for the rest of the season is the locker room.
The Chargers are always tight-lipped when it comes to this stuff, but it's at least worth wondering—how long does the locker room remain bought in if there isn't any improvement in process or results on the offensive side of the ball? Los Angeles' worst-case scenario, in terms of the outcome for this season, has already come to fruition. The only way things can get worse is if McDaniel's struggles leave this team with a lack of identity heading into the offseason.
Although Greg Roman's scheme had its clear limitations, the Chargers at least looked cohesive when everyone was healthy. There's been exactly one drive this season where McDaniel's scheme has provided a similar complexion—the first possession against the Arizona Cardinals in the first game of the season. Apart from that, this offense has been defined by mistakes and miscues—penalties, poorly-run routes, and apparently misunderstood schematics have run rampant across this unit since Week 1.
As much as that falls on the players and their ability to assimilate into the scheme, that burden also falls upon McDaniel and his installation of his gameplan. Make no mistake—if McDaniel is staying on through the end of this season, this is his mess to fix.
We don't need to get into the weeds here about what possible adjustments to the scheme could look like. Justin Herbert needs easier buttons to press on offense, and that starts with unlocking more underneath (and less timing-based) throws on a down-to-down basis as well as finding a way to solidify the run game.
But regardless of process—an regardless of whether McDaniel keeps his job past this season—this is a team that should be competing for a Super Bowl next season. The offensive process, then, needs to show rapid improvement from here on out. Even if McDaniel is fired, Herbert and the Chargers' other offensive leaders entering the offseason completely downtrodden and disheartened by the level of play over the back half of this season only compounds the challenges that the coaching staff, whatever shape it takes, will need to face this offseason.
It might not start in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams, but the improvement needs to come eventually—even if it can't ultimately save McDaniel's job during this trainwreck of a season.
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