McDaniel entered the season with plenty of responsibility on his shoulders. The Chargers have invested heavily in building an offense capable of competing with some of the league’s best teams, and that naturally puts pressure on the people responsible for getting those pieces to work together. When an offense looks inconsistent, predictable or simply less dangerous than it should, the coordinator is usually one of the first people to face criticism.
The biggest issue is not necessarily whether the Chargers can put together a good offensive performance. Most NFL offenses are going to have games where everything clicks. The more important question is whether McDaniel can consistently create an identity that the team can rely on.
That is where the pressure could begin to grow.
Is it all his fault?
A coordinator can only control so much. Players still have to execute, injuries can completely change a game plan, and opposing defenses are constantly adjusting. At the same time, the coordinator is responsible for finding answers when the original plan stops working. If the Chargers repeatedly struggle to make those adjustments, it becomes fair to question whether the offense is being put in the best possible position.
There is also a difference between an offense that is struggling because of execution and one that simply does not appear to have enough answers. The former can usually be corrected on the practice field. The latter becomes a much larger problem because it raises questions about the overall direction of the offense.
For McDaniel, that distinction could ultimately determine how much pressure lands on him.
One bad stretch should not be enough to put an offensive coordinator’s job in serious jeopardy. NFL seasons are long, and offensive production can change quickly. But if the same problems continue appearing week after week, patience can become much harder to justify. The Chargers do not need to have the league’s highest-scoring offense every Sunday. They do, however, need an offense that looks prepared, adaptable and capable of taking advantage of the talent around it.
If that happens, the conversation surrounding McDaniel will probably quiet down. If it does not, the questions are only going to become louder.
And eventually, the Chargers may have to decide whether the problem is simply a temporary offensive slump or whether it starts with the person designing the offense in the first place.
