Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel will keep his play-calling duties. ESPN described McDaniel as "embattled" and said Harbaugh announced the decision. NFL Trade Rumors reported the same thing from Harbaugh's session with reporters. The news was also credited to Adam Schefter in a post on r/nfl.

The announcement came after a week of uncertainty. Pro Football Talk and Yahoo Sports both led with Harbaugh's earlier comments. He said the team would spend its bye week "looking into everything" to improve the offense, and he did not rule out a change involving McDaniel. NFL Trade Rumors added that Harbaugh was "recently non-committal" when asked whether McDaniel would keep the job. It also noted "growing skepticism" around McDaniel. The feed summaries we have don't say what Harbaugh cited in deciding to keep him.

The Chargers are 0-6 and fourth in the AFC West with six straight losses. They are 0-3 at home and 0-3 on the road. Over those six games they have averaged 15.0 points and allowed 25.2, a differential of about 10 points per game.

The offense has failed to reach 25 points in any of the six games. The high was 23, in a 30-23 loss at Seattle on Oct. 4. Los Angeles then scored 17 in a 23-17 home loss to Denver on Oct. 11. On Oct. 18 it scored 6 in a 22-6 loss at Kansas City, the last game before the bye. Before that the Chargers lost 16-24 at Buffalo and scored 14 in each of their first two home games, both 26-14 losses to Las Vegas and Arizona.

Harbaugh has coached the club since before this season. Our records show a 0-6 mark this year and a 0-1 postseason record in the Chargers staff data.

The next test is Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Rams. It will be the first game since the bye and the first with McDaniel's play-calling status settled.