Despite having a proven winner as a head coach and an efficient quarterback in Justin Herbert, the Los Angeles Chargers still cannot seem to get out of their own way sometimes. The Denver Broncos were able to take advantage of this a bit, as the Chargers helped the Broncos clinch the top seed in the AFC in 2025.
On paper, the Chargers really have some notable weaknesses, especially along the offensive line, and for the second year in a row, Los Angeles went 11-6 in the regular season and was bounced out of the playoffs in the first round. Well, the Chargers are trying to fix that, as they fired their former offensive coordinator Greg Roman and hired Mike McDaniel, who was fired by the Miami Dolphins a few weeks ago.
While hiring McDaniel was a great move, the Chargers somehow managed to mess it up a bit with their latest coaching hire, and it's a move that Broncos fans will simply have to laugh at.
Los Angeles Chargers are hiring former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase
According to Ian Rapoport, the Chargers are bringing former Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase back onto their staff as an assistant to focus on the passing game. Yep, you read that correctly. Gase, now 47 years old, was last coaching in the NFL back in 2020 with the New York Jets.
After that 2020 season, Gase was not coaching in the NFL, so he was just out of the league for five seasons. After a stint as the Broncos offensive coordinator in 2013-2014, Gase held the same role with the Chicago Bears. Chicago ranked just 23rd in points scored. And in the 2016-2020 seasons, Gase was the head coach of the Dolphins and the Jets.
His scoring offenses during those five years ranked 17th, 18th, 26th, 31st, and 32nd, respectively. After the 2014 season with the Broncos, Gase never fielded a passing offense that ranked higher than 18th in yards, but he's been hired to help with the passing game for the Chargers.
There really aren't many words for this type of hire by the Chargers. It's mind-boggling at best, and it's going to work out as most of us think it will. Not only has Gase not been coaching in the NFL for the past five seasons, which is truly a lifetime, but he also didn't have a track record of success before this absence.
Sure, Gase could have very well improved his coaching ability and perhaps feels refreshed from the time off, but it's hard to justify this type of move as we enter the 2026 NFL Season later this calendar year. Broncos fans are surely laughing right now, as this move by the Chargers has dysfunction written all over it.