Jon Gruden criticism of Los Angeles Chargers offense and Mike McDaniel, Digi Mart USA News: The Los Angeles Chargers are the only winless team in the NFL, and they have drawn sharp criticism from several observers, including coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden is the latest to offer a harsh assessment of the team and its struggling offense over the last three games.
Speaking on DraftKings’ Jon Gruden Family Football show, the former Raiders coach placed the blame largely on McDaniel. Asked to pick the winner of the Chargers’ upcoming game against the Houston Texans, Gruden said he could not back the Chargers because they had not scored a touchdown in 27 possessions, the longest such streak since the Miami Dolphins went 30 possessions.
He added that he thought the offensive coordinator was the coach of the Dolphins.
The Chargers’ last touchdown came on October 11, when Kimani Vidal took a 42-yard run into the end zone against the Denver Broncos. Since then, the team has gone seven quarters without scoring a touchdown and has dropped to 0-7.
Gruden also questioned the offense’s execution under quarterback Justin Herbert, describing the play-calling as compromising ball handling and saying he did not understand the plays being run.
Gruden predicted the Texans would win, 13-10. McDaniel was brought in to get the most out of an offense that had been underachieving, after the Chargers went 11-6 in each of their last two seasons under Harbaugh and Greg Roman was replaced.
Heading into Week 9, the Chargers are essentially out of the playoff race, and McDaniel’s job is in question.
Herbert, who has led the Chargers to three playoff appearances since 2020 without yet winning a playoff game, had 4,000-yard seasons in each of his first three years. This season he is averaging fewer than 200 passing yards per game, with five touchdowns and a league-high 10 interceptions.
