SI:AM | Jim Harbaugh Backs OC Mike McDaniel Amid Chargers’ Offensive Struggles

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I was in the car during the early NFL slate yesterday and I had almost forgotten how good football is on the radio.

In today’s SI:AM:
⚡ Chargers’ problems deepen
🤠 Inside the Cowboys’ big win
🦁 Lions’ window closing?

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The Chargers got unplugged

The Chargers are off to their worst start in nearly a decade, but coach Jim Harbaugh isn’t rushing to reshuffle his coaching staff.

Los Angeles fell to 0–4 yesterday after a 30–23 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. The Chargers squandered a strong defensive performance by turning the ball over three times on offense (plus a muffed punt) and only gaining 301 total yards. They mounted a valiant comeback after falling behind 27–6, but their final possession ended when Justin Herbert was sacked and fumbled with 1:03 left to play.

It was the fourth straight underwhelming performance by the Chargers’ offense, which now ranks 29th in the league in scoring. Herbert has thrown six interceptions, tied for second most in the NFL, and has been sacked 12 times, one fewer than co-leaders Aaron Rodgers and Baker Mayfield.

Still, Harbaugh is not ready to make a change at offensive coordinator. Asked about the job security of OC Mike McDaniel, Harbaugh said emphatically, “No, no, no, his job is not in jeopardy.”

McDaniel, the former Dolphins head coach, was hired in the offseason to replace Greg Roman, who had held the position for the previous two seasons. The Chargers had mixed results under Roman. They ranked 12th in offensive yardage last season but only 20th in scoring, thanks in part to the fourth-worst red zone touchdown percentage in the NFL. Roman was fired after the Chargers’ offense sputtered in a 16–3 playoff loss to the Patriots.

But McDaniel isn’t the only new coordinator on staff, and the lack of offensive firepower isn’t the only reason why the Chargers are 0–4. They also brought in a new defensive coordinator, Chris O’Leary, after Jesse Minter was hired away to become the Ravens’ new head coach. Minter’s defenses were among the best in the league in Harbaugh’s first two seasons in Los Angeles, which helped paper over any offensive inconsistencies. The Chargers allowed the fewest points in the NFL in 2024 and ranked ninth last season. This year, they’re 24th.

Things are at least trending in the right direction on defense. The Chargers took a Seattle offense that had lit up the Commanders for 437 yards in Sam Darnold’s return last week and held them to 286 yards. But the offense didn’t do the defense any favors. Two of the Chargers’ turnovers set the Seahawks up with excellent field position and led quickly to touchdowns.

Unfortunately for the Chargers, it may already be too late for them to turn their season around. Only one team in NFL history has ever started 0–4 and then gone on to make the playoffs (the 1992 Chargers, who went 11–1 the rest of the way). No team has ever reached the postseason after starting 0–5.

If the Chargers lose to the Broncos next week, it would tie the second-worst start in franchise history. They previously went 0–5 to open the 1991 and 2003 seasons. The franchise record for longest losing streak to open a season is 11 (set in 1975 and matched in 2000). That mark appears safe. At least for now.

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The top five…

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… things I saw yesterday:
5. The Jets’ first interception in 637 days (hauled in by Minkah Fitzpatrick).
4. Deonte Banks’s game-sealing pick six for the Giants on a fourth-and-goal in the final seconds.
3. Commanders rookie Athan Kaliakmanis’s first career touchdown pass—a 47-yard bomb to Treylon Burks.
2. Jackson Chourio’s walk-off single for the Brewers against superstar Padres closer Mason Miller.
1. Efton Chism’s one-handed touchdown grab to give the Patriots the lead over the Bills in the final two minutes. It was just the seventh NFL catch for Chism, and Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson couldn’t believe the Patriots’ hero was such a nobody.

📺 What we’re watching today …

NFL

Falcons at Saints, 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN

It’s a Domecoming, as New Orleans commemorates 20 years since these two teams met in the Superdome when it reopened following Hurricane Katrina.

MLB

White Sox at Guardians, 5 p.m. ET, TBS

Cleveland hopes its bats awaken for Game 2 after being shut out in the opener. Gavin Williams, who was second in MLB in strikeouts (248), takes the mound for Cleveland.

Yankees at Rays, 8 p.m. ET, TBS

Likely AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler, who is 8-2 with a 1.16 ERA in 17 road starts this season, looks to help New York even the series in Game 2.

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