Chargers add surprising coach to staff to work closely with Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert

The Los Angeles Chargers are one of the most intriguing teams for the upcoming NFL season. They acquired the most coveted name for their head coaching position in Mike McDaniel. However, as Justin Herbert looks to establish himself in the elite, the team also opted to bring an infamous name into their offesnive coaching staff.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Chargers are hiring Adam Gase as passing game coordinator. This means he will work very closely with Justin Herbert. Gase was last seen coaching the New York Jets in the NFL.

After that, it’s been a five-year hiatus for a coach that seemed like the NFL passed him over. While Mike McDaniel will oversee all things offense with head coach Jim Harbaugh, having someone like Gase might be troublesome if he is indeed outdated with the current NFL landscape.

Gase has a very bad reputation

Gase rose to prominence in the NFL thanks to being the Broncos OC during the Peyton Manning days. That granted him the Dolphins HC position from 2016 to 2017. He had a 23-25 record with the Dolphins, but that didn’t stop the Jets from hiring as the head coach too. It was a disaster, even if he had now-Super Bowl winner Sam Darnold under center. He ended up with a 9-23 record with the Jets. Overall, his HC record is 32-48 and no one saw him since then.

Since 2024, Gase was a strategic advisor for the football intelligence, technology, and media company The 33rd Team alongside Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia. Hence, Gase has been watching the NFL from outside of the bubble. It’s a really weird hire by the Chargers.

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The Chargers have a lot of pressure on their shoulders

The Chargers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2018 season. After that, they’ve missed four playoff trips and have also lost three times in the Wild Card Round. At first, they changed the coach to bring back Jim Harbaugh. Now, they changed the OC and brought the mastermind Mike McDaniel to call plays. Those two paired with an elite talent like Justin Herbert makes this offense a force to be reckoned with.