Colin Cowherd calls out Mike McDaniel after Chargers ‘look lost’ in Week 2 loss

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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In Week 2, the heavily favored Los Angeles Chargers suffered their second straight loss to begin the season, leading to major concerns about the team's upcoming slate.

On Fox Sports' "The Herd With Colin Cowherd," the outspoken media personality seemingly suggested that fault could lie with a major offseason change the team made with the coaching staff. After the Miami Dolphins parted ways with Mike McDaniel after several seasons as head coach, the Chargers hired him as their offensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh.

However, according to Cowherd, the offense appears "lost" and "confused" after suffering back-to-back losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders, two teams sportsbooks had them as big favorites against.

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"When Mike McDaniel got hired, we all said, 'Oh, he's a genius!' My take is: It's football; it's not advanced calculus. You can't make it that complicated. Is he wagging around the ego, putting in so many new gadgets, motions, tricks, that the players are confused? They look confused," Cowhered said.

Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel watches as quarterback Justin Herbert prepares to throw ahead of preseason game

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"They're snapping the ball to a player in motion, hitting him. Multiple times, receivers are ending up in the same spot. The offensive line protections are all screwed up. The running backs are prone to fumbles. It looks like Justin Herbert is thinking too much," he said on Monday.

Cowherd also mentioned that the Chargers lost Jesse Minter as defensive coordinator, since Minter became the new head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. He pointed out how Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett and the Raiders' Kirk Cousins looked like "Pro Bowlers" as they were "marching down the field" against the Chargers' defense.

However, their offense has been terrible, ranking 28th in points per game and 23rd in total yards per game. They're also tied for 29th in giveaways, adding to Cowherd's point that things became too complex under McDaniel's new offensive schemes.

Herbert followed up a bad season-opening game with a worse performance on Sunday at home. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown, also throwing two interceptions and getting sacked three times, in the team's 26-14 loss.

The most concerning aspect of the team's current issues is that the two teams they faced in the first several weeks were considered beatable by many experts. Both have veteran starting quarterbacks, but Brissett and Cousins are rarely mentioned among top-tier QBs like Herbert over multiple seasons.

For the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026, Herbert was ranked 39th in a vote conducted by other players. That was a 17-spot increase from his 2025 rank, and now some might wonder if he's a seriously overrated player and unworthy of the praise he gets.

According to Cowherd, it could simply be a matter of simplifying the offense, rather than McDaniel putting way too much into it for the players to succeed with.

Things don't look like they'll get easier for the Chargers, and their various issues could mean a long, disappointing season is on the way. At 0-2, they'll try to get their first win of the season on Sunday, Sept. 27, against Josh Allen and the 2-0 Buffalo Bills, who many people have said look like Super Bowl favorites out of the gate.

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