As Chargers' offense struggles, Mike McDaniel will move from the sideline to the booth

Published November 5, 2026 06:19 PM Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel will get a different perspective on his struggling offense on Sunday against the Texans.McDaniel said today that he will move upstairs to the booth to call plays after previously working from the sideline.“One of the things that I want to try is call plays from the box to see adjustments for myself and communicate with the position coaches appropriately what things we can focus on between series,” McDaniel said. “I won’t be in the same spot.”Although the Chargers’ offense has been among the worst in the NFL this season and head coach Jim Harbaugh has faced questions about whether he should fire his offensive coordinator, McDaniel insisted that he’s not concerned about the criticism.“My problem solving doesn’t come from insecurity,” McDaniel said. “I’m not trying to prove or justify anything.” The Chargers rank dead last in the NFL in scoring, having scored only 99 points this season, and they have an NFL-high 17 turnovers. McDaniel said he thinks it’s worth trying something different while delegating some of what he had been doing on the sideline to the assistant coaches.“Seems like a good action to take based on how things have gone this year, and realistically something that I’ve only brought up because I’ve observed, I’m very confident in the rest of the offensive coaching staff and how they’re able to set the tone and communicate information on the sidelines. So I feel a little more comfortable to try that,” McDaniel said.If that doesn’t work, Harbaugh’s next step might be to move McDaniel from the booth to the unemployment line.