The last time the Chargers started a season 0-6, their quarterback was Jim Harbaugh. That was 2000, in San Diego. Twenty-six years later, Harbaugh is the head coach, the Chargers are 0-6 again, and the man is not in the mood to promise anybody anything.

Asked Monday about offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s job status, Harbaugh didn’t give him the standard “he’s our guy” hug. “We’re looking into everything at this point, and that process is ongoing,” Harbaugh said, per Pro Football Talk. “Particularly offensively, scoring more points.”

Then he added the line that will be printed on every hot-seat graphic in Southern California this week: “0-6 does not give the privilege to rule out anything at this point.”

That is not a vote of confidence. That is a vote of “we’ll see.”

Six points in Kansas City

The latest mess came Sunday at Arrowhead, where the Chiefs beat the Chargers 22-6. Los Angeles scored three points in each half, which is a fun symmetry and a terrible offense. The Chargers averaged 4.1 yards per play while Kansas City averaged 7.4, according to The Athletic’s breakdown on NFL.com.

Justin Herbert was sacked four times and somehow finished as the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards on five carries. When your franchise quarterback is also your best running back, the game plan has left the building. Herbert also threw another interception, his eighth of the season, which leads the league. His career high is 15, set in 2021 over 17 starts. He’s more than halfway there before Halloween.

Herbert didn’t pretend to have the fix. “I don’t know,” he said. “If I had the answers, then we’d definitely be having a different conversation.”

Offensive lineman Cole Strange, who played for McDaniel in Miami, was asked about his old coach and passed. “I think that’s a better question for Mike,” Strange said. “We all have our own issues, but I’m not going to answer that.”

The McDaniel experiment

This was supposed to be the fun hire. McDaniel arrived after Miami fired him as head coach, and he was one of the hottest offensive coordinator names on the market. Harbaugh once called him “the head coach of the offense.” Plenty of people around the league called it a home run.

Six games in, it looks more like a pop-up to the catcher. Through Week 6 the Chargers ranked 26th in yards per game (287.2) and 30th in points per game (15). They rank last in expected points added per play. Herbert ranked last among qualified quarterbacks with a 29.9 adjusted QBR.

McDaniel has said he has “zero percent entitlement” and that the heat on him is natural. Good, because the thermostat is broken.

Here’s the bad news for anyone dreaming of a turnaround: no 0-5 team in NFL history has made the playoffs, and the Chargers blew past that number last week. The good news, sort of, is the calendar. Los Angeles is on its bye in Week 7, so Harbaugh has a full week to “look into everything” before the Rams come to SoFi Stadium on Nov. 1.

If changes are coming, now is when they come. And based on Monday’s press conference, Harbaugh is at least shopping.

<p><em>Originally published at <a href="https://ballsandbanter.com/nfl/chargers-hit-0-6-and-jim-harbaugh-wont-rule-out-anything-including-mike-mcdaniels-job/">Balls &amp; Banter</a>.</em></p>

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