mike mcdaniel

Be careful what you wish for when you’re wishing for a new offensive coordinator.

Chargers fans were so over Greg Roman. Anything would be better than his run-heavy scheme stunting quarterback Justin Herbert’s anticipated ascension. Anyone would be preferable to the man holding the reins while the Chargers scored just three points in last season’s wild-card loss to the New England Patriots, after which Roman was fired.

Anyone such as, say, former Miami Dolphins coach and purported offensive guru Mike McDaniel?

Yeah?

About that.

Somehow, after just two games, the Chargers’ offense under McDaniel has Bolts fans wishing anyone else was running the show. Roman included.

Because Roman wouldn’t have overcomplicated a third-and-inches play-call. He wouldn’t have had the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Herbert line up in shotgun and call for motion.

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The Chargers lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 on Sunday, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier for them moving forward.

And the subsequent snap wouldn’t have hit receiver Tre’ Harris before it got to Herbert. And instead of losing five yards and having Herbert, in a rare show of emotion, slapping the turf in frustration, the Chargers probably would have gotten a fresh set of downs.

So far, McDaniel’s brief Chargers’ tenure hasn’t just been a disappointment. It has, through two games, been a disaster. Because the Chargers really needed these first two wins against opponents who both won only three games last season.

Instead, the Chargers’ offense looked as disjointed and discombobulated in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders as it did the previous week in their 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

It was an unwanted second helping of “humble pie,” as McDaniel described the Chargers’ Week 1 defeat. And it was nasty.

Now the Chargers’ schedule is about to come at them fast, with their next games against the Buffalo Bills, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and then the Rams, the preseason Super Bowl favorites.

After consecutive 11-win seasons under Jim Harbaugh — who’d never lost to the Raiders and never previously lost two consecutive games to start a season — the Chargers might blink and find themselves 0-7.

What’s worse than frustratingly quick postseason exits? Not making the playoffs at all.

And the Chargers are going to need to engineer a quick turnaround if they’re going to be among the 15% of teams that start a season 0-2 and still reach postseason play.

Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel walks on the sideline before a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 20.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

To do that, they’ll need to score more points. They’ll need to stop shooting themselves in the proverbial feet and take some better shots downfield. Stop dropping the ball — figuratively, literally. They fumbled six times Sunday!

And stop thinking so much. Sundays are for reacting, and any amount of thinking is overthinking.

Maybe it’s personnel? The fact that, outside of Ladd McConkey, the Chargers are short on receivers who can reliably create separation.

Maybe it’s just a matter of time that the Chargers don’t have much of, cramming to learn McDaniel’s methods, to dial in the timing and coordination.

Or maybe, for McDaniel, it’s as simple as simplifying what he’s trying to do with this Chargers offense.

When he was hired in January, the prevailing thought was that the cerebral partnership between McDaniel and Herbert would prove a perfect match.

Even though McDaniel was dismissed after the Dolphins missed the playoffs two consecutive seasons, the coach — who’d developed a reputation as a talented offensive mind under Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers — was a hot commodity on the coaching market.

McDaniel reportedly drew interest from the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bills and Raiders. But he opted to come to L.A. to work with Herbert as the All-Pro QB’s fifth offensive coordinator in seven seasons (following three offensive coordinators in his four years at Oregon).

Starting over again, in these two games with McDaniel, Herbert has thrown for a modest 401 yards, just two touchdowns and three interceptions — though one of them bounced off David Njoku’s hands Sunday.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert watches a pass attempt fall incomplete after he is hit by Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce during the fourth quarter Sunday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There have also been protection problems, fumbles, a missed field goal, and lots of penalties — including four on star left tackle Joe Alt, who was called for a hold that resulted in a safety on an anything-that-can-go-wrong-will-go-wrong Sunday.

“I’m not looking in any one direction,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “I’m looking at it all.”

On TV, Herbert appeared to be looking off into space on the sideline as McDaniel sat chattering beside him, the game mercifully winding down.

Asked what McDaniel’s message was to the offense, Herbert said: “I haven’t been able to speak with him after.”

There’s a lot to talk about, but be careful what you ask.

Mike McDaniel isn’t panicking.

But the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator knows his unit must show urgency and improvement Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders after a rude wake-up call in the season opener.

“You have a lot of visions coming to a new team and working on something for months. The vision never looked like that,” McDaniel said of the Chargers’ 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. “That’s the beautiful thing about football; like life, time spent forecasting [and] visualizing things going a certain way … no one cares about that.

“So, it was a case of humble pie.”

Quarterback Justin Herbert never looked fully comfortable. He completed 17 of 27 passes with 207 yards, one touchdown and one back-breaking interception.

The time-of-possession disparity also played a big role in the loss, with the Cardinals controlling the ball roughly 15 minutes longer.

Herbert knows that can’t happen again.

“It’s another opportunity for us to go play football, to be better, and to put our brand of work out there,” Herbert said. “I don’t think we were happy or content with [the] Week 1 effort. So, we’re doing everything we can to fix it and be better.”

Facing a Maxx Crosby-led Raiders defense that held McDaniel’s former team, the Miami Dolphins, to 13 points in Week 1, the Chargers are focusing on often-overlooked aspects, such as understanding assignments, communicating more clearly, cleaning up penalties and operating as a collective.

“These are elementary things,” McDaniel said.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert celebrates with coach Jim Harbaugh, center, and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel after a touchdown against the Cardinals on Sept. 13.

(Harry How / Getty Images)

The offense will need more production from several players, especially if wideout Ladd McConkey, who is questionable to play with a rib injury, is unavailable.

Wide receivers Quentin Johnston and Tre’ Harris, who each saw six targets in Week 1, should see increased involvement, as should speedy rookie Brenen Thompson.

“He’s been really good,” coach Jim Harbaugh said of Thompson. “Great opportunity for him [and a] great challenge.”

Tight end Oronde Gadsden II is another player who could play a key role in a revitalized passing attack.

“I would expect [Gadsden] to be more involved outside of an unforeseen situation where the game and the parameters with which you’re playing change, in which case we’ll address that,” McDaniel said.

Perhaps the most important player to watch Sunday will be Omarion Hampton. The second-year running back had just 12 carries for 43 yards and one touchdown while also losing a fumble against the Cardinals.

“Really just flush [Week 1],” Hampton said about the Chargers’ approach to facing the Raiders. “[And] look at all the stuff we can work on. Come back, regroup as a team, talk about what we need to do to move forward and make it not happen again.

“We all think the same thing … urgent to get how we want to play. That’s really the main thing going on in the locker room.”

Changes also will be apparent on the offensive line.

Trey Pipkins III (knee) won’t play against the Raiders, ending the rotation at left guard, at least for now. And while the team would rather be at full strength, Kayode Awosika — who played well against the Cardinals — will get a chance to prove himself without sharing snaps.

Nonetheless, as McDaniel emphasized, talk of expectations and adjustments don’t matter — it’s what shows up on film that does.

Good thing the Chargers’ new play-caller craves adversity.

“It’s been my favorite week of my employment here,” McDaniel said. “Because — I know [through] my experience in this league — do not measure anything beyond how a group of people handles adversity in the National Football League.

“It’s not if, it’s when.”

Jim Harbaugh wants his teams to finish seasons the way they start them.

If the Chargers do that, they’re going all the way.

Counting his four seasons with San Francisco, Harbaugh is 6-0 in NFL season debuts as a head coach. That’s tied for the most opening victories without a loss in league history.

“It’s September. It’s time to play our first game,” Harbaugh told reporters this week. “And I support no cause, foreign or domestic, other than the greatness of the Los Angeles Chargers.”

His team plays host to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and oddsmakers see a blowout in the making. The Chargers are favored by 9½ points, the biggest spread of Week 1.

Despite a 2-0 start last season, the Cardinals lost 14 of the next 15 and wound up with the third overall pick in the NFL draft, which they used on Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. The rookie is questionable for this game because of an ankle injury.

Their quarterback is no longer Kyler Murray, now in Minnesota, but Jacoby Brissett, who is on his sixth franchise — and seventh if you count two stops in New England.

This game is the “Mike” drop, if you will, with Mike LaFleur coaching his first game for Arizona, and Mike McDaniel making his debut as Chargers offensive coordinator.

LaFleur and McDaniel have history. They were young offensive assistants in Cleveland, Atlanta and San Francisco and both represent branches of the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree.

There’s a link too between Harbaugh and LaFleur. Both are younger brothers of other current NFL head coaches: Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers and John Harbaugh of the New York Giants.