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The take from Popper's replacement at The Athletic
Mike McDaniel tried to change Justin Herbert, and now the Chargers are 0-4
SEATTLE — It was fourth-and-7 from his own 10-yard line. Justin Herbert needed to come up with something for the Los Angeles Chargers, who were facing defeat, down 10 in the closing moments. Herbert’s initial reads did not materialize before the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning defense, matched up against reserves at four of five offensive line positions, flushed him from the pocket.
Rolling right, he let one go. Forty-four yards later, Quentin Johnston came down with it.
Outside the structure of an offense that’s tried to change him, Herbert looked like himself. Back from the sunken place. His most memorable highlights in a 30-23 loss that dropped the Chargers to 0-4 on the season were not scripted — they often haven’t been throughout his career.
But one of the first things Mike McDaniel did upon taking over as offensive coordinator was alter the footwork of his Pro Bowl quarterback, ahead of Herbert’s seventh season, to help him better fit his vision. McDaniel said Herbert was receptive, which he was. Herbert tried to be the player McDaniel wanted him to be and, at least outwardly, has remained steadfast. “I think Mike is the greatest, and I want to make him proud and do everything I can to pick up the offense and do exactly what he asks,” Herbert said Sunday.
Two interceptions in the first half of Week 4 left Herbert at a crossroads, though.
“It’s better to throw the ball away or go scramble, so there’s plenty of other things that I can do,” he said postgame. “We got to go make plays … and know that running and scrambling is better than turning the ball over.”
Herbert had never played a worse first half of football since entering the NFL, as he set new career lows for completions (five), completion percentage (35.7) and passing yardage (36) through two quarters at Lumen Field.
In the second half, however, he completed 14 of 17 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, despite taking — as right guard Cole Strange characterized it — “too many” hard hits in the process. “I think it galvanizes the guys,” Strange, one of the Chargers’ last offensive linemen still standing after four quarters, said of Herbert’s resilience.
Instead of sliding, Herbert fought for extra yards — and not exclusively on designed runs. He took matters into his own hands and just barely fell short of willing the Chargers to a signature comeback win.
The late offensive surge gave head coach Jim Harbaugh, persistently averse to publicly acknowledging negative aspects of his team, something to talk about postgame. It seemed to leave him hopeful that things still could get better without wholesale change. Harbaugh also continued to endorse McDaniel, the independent variable in all of this.
“No, no, no!” Harbaugh said when he realized an initial non-answer on McDaniel’s job security could leave room for speculation. “His job is not in jeopardy. He’s a skilled coach, and we’re going to keep growing.”
Players of Herbert’s caliber don’t just forget how to play football. And yet, one offseason with a new coordinator and his tailored system has managed to show that effect more often than not four games in. Herbert’s six interceptions are the most he’s thrown through this point of the season.
Maybe it’s too late to turn back. Harbaugh took an unusually bold step by hiring McDaniel and, in the same breath, firing Greg Roman, who had called the offensive plays for Harbaugh over his six prior seasons as an NFL head coach, with both the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14) and Chargers (2024-25).
Now, if the Chargers were to go away from McDaniel, then who’d get the nod? Harbaugh has never called plays in the NFL.
McDaniel expected more from this iteration of his offense and, frankly, has appeared at a loss for answers. He says all the right things during the week — that the goal is to coach to the strengths of his players; that nobody cares about improvement absent wins; that his ego should not get in the way of fielding a productive offense.
Four losses in, though, people are left to wonder what he’s been up to since Harbaugh handed him the keys eight months ago. Apparently, it takes a lot of work to make Superman look human — and less to let Superman just be Superman.
“He said that our entire season had kind of built us up, prepared us for this moment, which is pretty valid,” Strange said of McDaniel’s halftime message. “We hadn’t won anything all year. First half (Sunday) was atrocious. So, it’s just, like, keep coming back, keep getting up, don’t quit, keep fighting.
“And I mean, I don’t know. We did that, but s—, we still didn’t win.”
In his own words this offseason, McDaniel explained his goal to have Herbert “own the position in a way he never has,” so the offense would not have to rely on his “ability to do above and beyond.”
Yet, when the Chargers were backed up close to their own end zone on a do-or-die fourth down, they leaned on Herbert the way they always have in the past. Harbaugh called it one of the “grittiest” performances he’d been part of, his team a two-minute drill away from overtime after clawing back from three possessions down.
“We’re gonna keep going for that breakthrough,” he said. “Back-to-back touchdown drives, that was a good sign. It’s what staying the course looks like.”
Indeed, the Chargers have stayed the course to this point. And now, they’re 0-4.
Mike McDaniel tried to change Justin Herbert, and now the Chargers are 0-4
SEATTLE — It was fourth-and-7 from his own 10-yard line. Justin Herbert needed to come up with something for the Los Angeles Chargers, who were facing defeat, down 10 in the closing moments. Herbert’s initial reads did not materialize before the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning defense, matched up against reserves at four of five offensive line positions, flushed him from the pocket.
Rolling right, he let one go. Forty-four yards later, Quentin Johnston came down with it.
Outside the structure of an offense that’s tried to change him, Herbert looked like himself. Back from the sunken place. His most memorable highlights in a 30-23 loss that dropped the Chargers to 0-4 on the season were not scripted — they often haven’t been throughout his career.
But one of the first things Mike McDaniel did upon taking over as offensive coordinator was alter the footwork of his Pro Bowl quarterback, ahead of Herbert’s seventh season, to help him better fit his vision. McDaniel said Herbert was receptive, which he was. Herbert tried to be the player McDaniel wanted him to be and, at least outwardly, has remained steadfast. “I think Mike is the greatest, and I want to make him proud and do everything I can to pick up the offense and do exactly what he asks,” Herbert said Sunday.
Two interceptions in the first half of Week 4 left Herbert at a crossroads, though.
“It’s better to throw the ball away or go scramble, so there’s plenty of other things that I can do,” he said postgame. “We got to go make plays … and know that running and scrambling is better than turning the ball over.”
Herbert had never played a worse first half of football since entering the NFL, as he set new career lows for completions (five), completion percentage (35.7) and passing yardage (36) through two quarters at Lumen Field.
In the second half, however, he completed 14 of 17 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, despite taking — as right guard Cole Strange characterized it — “too many” hard hits in the process. “I think it galvanizes the guys,” Strange, one of the Chargers’ last offensive linemen still standing after four quarters, said of Herbert’s resilience.
Instead of sliding, Herbert fought for extra yards — and not exclusively on designed runs. He took matters into his own hands and just barely fell short of willing the Chargers to a signature comeback win.
The late offensive surge gave head coach Jim Harbaugh, persistently averse to publicly acknowledging negative aspects of his team, something to talk about postgame. It seemed to leave him hopeful that things still could get better without wholesale change. Harbaugh also continued to endorse McDaniel, the independent variable in all of this.
“No, no, no!” Harbaugh said when he realized an initial non-answer on McDaniel’s job security could leave room for speculation. “His job is not in jeopardy. He’s a skilled coach, and we’re going to keep growing.”
Players of Herbert’s caliber don’t just forget how to play football. And yet, one offseason with a new coordinator and his tailored system has managed to show that effect more often than not four games in. Herbert’s six interceptions are the most he’s thrown through this point of the season.
Maybe it’s too late to turn back. Harbaugh took an unusually bold step by hiring McDaniel and, in the same breath, firing Greg Roman, who had called the offensive plays for Harbaugh over his six prior seasons as an NFL head coach, with both the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14) and Chargers (2024-25).
Now, if the Chargers were to go away from McDaniel, then who’d get the nod? Harbaugh has never called plays in the NFL.
McDaniel expected more from this iteration of his offense and, frankly, has appeared at a loss for answers. He says all the right things during the week — that the goal is to coach to the strengths of his players; that nobody cares about improvement absent wins; that his ego should not get in the way of fielding a productive offense.
Four losses in, though, people are left to wonder what he’s been up to since Harbaugh handed him the keys eight months ago. Apparently, it takes a lot of work to make Superman look human — and less to let Superman just be Superman.
“He said that our entire season had kind of built us up, prepared us for this moment, which is pretty valid,” Strange said of McDaniel’s halftime message. “We hadn’t won anything all year. First half (Sunday) was atrocious. So, it’s just, like, keep coming back, keep getting up, don’t quit, keep fighting.
“And I mean, I don’t know. We did that, but s—, we still didn’t win.”
In his own words this offseason, McDaniel explained his goal to have Herbert “own the position in a way he never has,” so the offense would not have to rely on his “ability to do above and beyond.”
Yet, when the Chargers were backed up close to their own end zone on a do-or-die fourth down, they leaned on Herbert the way they always have in the past. Harbaugh called it one of the “grittiest” performances he’d been part of, his team a two-minute drill away from overtime after clawing back from three possessions down.
“We’re gonna keep going for that breakthrough,” he said. “Back-to-back touchdown drives, that was a good sign. It’s what staying the course looks like.”
Indeed, the Chargers have stayed the course to this point. And now, they’re 0-4.
I still ain’t buying those two interceptions were anyone but Herbert’s fault.
Nevertheless, people like simple minded narratives that it’s just this one thing.
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