Chargers Could Replace OC Mike McDaniel With This Former Head Coach: Report

The Los Angeles Chargers continue to disappoint fans as they've gone 0-5 to start the 2026 season.

Will changes start being made? According to ESPN's Ian Rapoport, there are no plans to fire coach Jim Harbaugh or any other coaches at the moment.

"If the struggles continue, and they continue to look like a fully unprepared team, then of course changes would have to be considered," Rapoport said on Wednesday's "The Insiders." "I just don't get the sense that there's anything being considered right now."

However, one name that's been tossed around in the media is offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who is in his first year with Harbaugh in Los Angeles. There isn't official talk of his firing, Rapoport said, but in case the Chargers ultimately do decide to go that route, then they seem to have a solid backup plan when replacing McDaniel in the interim: former head coach and OC Adam Gase, who is now the Chargers' passing game specialist.

"One of the more interesting parts of this is that Mike McDaniel's offense, which they had such high hopes for, really hasn't delivered at all," Rapoport said. "If that continues to be the case, they do have someone inside the building who has been a really successful offensive coordinator in Adam Gase."

Gase has a controversial coaching history, to say the least. Before taking the job with the Chargers this season, Gase hadn't coached in the NFL at all since the conclusion of the 2020 season after he was fired as the New York Jets head coach. The team went 2-14 that year, and he finished his two-year tenure with a 9-23 record. Before that, Gase coached the Miami Dolphins for three seasons, posting a 23-25 overall record there.

Although Gase failed at being a head coach of a franchise, he was a successful offensive coordinator. He notably was the Denver Broncos' OC when the team became the highest scoring offense in NFL history with 606 points scored in the 2013 season.

The Chargers definitely need an offensive boost as they rank low in essentially every category. They lead the league with 13 turnovers, for instance. The Chargers rank 30th in points per game (16.8), 30th in passing yards per game (164.6), 25th in total yards per game (292.8) and ninth in rushing yards per game (128.2). Maybe a change at the OC position is what the Chargers need at this point in the season.