Despite Their Struggles, the Chargers are Better Off Keeping Mike McDaniel This Season

The Los Angeles Chargers have reached a point where it is difficult to find many positives about their offense. At 0-6, the season is quickly slipping away, and the team has looked nowhere close to what many expected when Mike McDaniel was hired to lead the offense. Still, despite the struggles, keeping McDaniel in place for the remainder of the season may be the best decision the Chargers can make.

Jim Harbaugh said today that McDaniel will continue calling the offense as the Chargers prepare to return from their bye week. While plenty of fans have been calling for a change, there is a reasonable argument for giving McDaniel more time to figure things out rather than making a midseason switch.

The results have been unacceptable. The Chargers have struggled to score points, Justin Herbert has been turning the ball over far too often and the offense has consistently failed to capitalize on opportunities. Through six games, there has been very little evidence that McDaniel's system is working the way it was supposed to.

However, firing him now would not necessarily solve those problems.

McDaniel has a track record of putting together productive offenses. During his time in Miami, his offenses showed the ability to create explosive plays and put up points. There is a reason the Chargers brought him in to work with Herbert in the first place. The idea was to pair one of the league's most talented quarterbacks with an offensive mind capable of maximizing his abilities.

That has not happened yet, but it is worth finding out whether the two can eventually make it work.

The Chargers have dealt with injuries along the offensive line and at wide receiver, while turnovers, dropped passes and penalties have compounded the issues. Those problems do not excuse the coaching or play-calling, but they are worth considering before deciding that the entire plan needs to be scrapped.

With the season already looking lost, the Chargers have little to gain from making a desperate move simply to show that something is changing. Instead, the priority should be simplifying the offense, getting healthier and finding some consistency over the final stretch of the season.

If McDaniel can get the offense moving in the right direction, even if the wins do not immediately follow, that would give the organization something to build on heading into next year. The Chargers need to see progress from Herbert, establish a more reliable running game and find ways to get their playmakers involved. Those are reasonable goals even with the postseason likely out of reach.

There is also the question of who would replace McDaniel. Adam Gase has experience as an offensive coordinator and could certainly take over the play-calling duties. However, his presence does not automatically make him a better option. His successful work with Peyton Manning in Denver came years ago, and his subsequent head-coaching tenures in Miami and New York left plenty of questions about his ability to lead an offense consistently.

Replacing McDaniel with Gase would be a gamble of its own, not a guaranteed improvement.

The Chargers need accountability, and McDaniel should be judged on what happens from here. Keeping him does not mean giving him a free pass for the team's offensive failures. It means allowing him the opportunity to demonstrate that the ideas that made him an attractive hire can translate to Los Angeles.

At this point, the Chargers should be looking beyond salvaging a disastrous season. They need to determine whether McDaniel can be part of the solution moving forward. If the offense continues to look this bad over the coming weeks, difficult decisions will be unavoidable.

For now, though, giving McDaniel the rest of the season to prove himself makes more sense than starting over in October. The Chargers have already lost plenty of time. They might as well use the remaining games to find out whether this offense has a future.