Two of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's former coordinators didn't exactly see their respective squads get out to the best of starts in Week 1.
Robert Saleh's Tennessee Titans were wholly embarrassed by his other former employer, the New York Jets, while Los Angeles Chargers coordinator Mike McDaniel all but saw his offense collapse in a stunning home loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals.
While Saleh can at least look back at his 2025 reunion with the Niners as successful (it ultimatley helped him net another head-coaching gig last offseason), McDaniel's fall from grace apparently hasn't hit a stopping point yet.
When the Bolts hired McDaniel during the offseason, the intent was to infuse some creativity over head coach Jim Harbaugh's longtime offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, whom San Francisco fans recall well enough. True, McDaniel's tenure with the 49ers garnered him plenty of attention, eventually leading to his own departure for the Miami Dolphins head-coaching vacancy in 2022.
Of course, McDaniel's tenure in South Beach ended disastrously, his team seemingly quitting on him during his final 2025 season there amid a flurry of controversies and headaches.
Now, after an ugly showing against what was supposed to be a rebuilding and bottom-feeding Cardinals team, McDaniel couldn't look much worse than he does right now.
Chargers' ugly loss to Cardinals puts Mike McDaniel at another low point
Granted, the Bolts had far more issues than just McDaniel's offense in the 26-14 defeat to Arizona.
But, with the offensive talent at McDaniel's disposal, it's hard not to shift a hefty chunk of the blame on his shoulders.
From Sports Illustrated's Mike Kadlick and Eva Geitheim:
This is an incredibly disappointing loss for the Chargers, who were expected to roll to an easy 1–0 start as they look to contend in the AFC again. Instead, they mustered only 268 yards of offense while controlling the clock for just 22:29 of the game. It’s only Week 1, but this loss is far from what this offense was expected to be capable of.
Whereas Los Angeles is expected to be an AFC West contender, and the Cardinals are far closer to the top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, the perceived script was flipped entirely.
Granted, there are areas that look fixable. The Chargers were beset by several pre-snap penalties, and it frequently appeared as if quarterback Justin Herbert and his receiving targets weren't always on the same page. There are workable solutions there.
At the same time, amid the pressure upon Harbaugh within a contested division, any continued disappointment from McDaniel's offense won't do him any wonders.
And his stock was already at a low point entering 2026. That didn't change after Week 1.
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