The NFL really can be an inefficient mess, can’t it? Already, we are seeing coaches stripped of play-calling duties or, well, quietly stripped of play-calling duties, with outside consultants being brought in and general managers flat-out fired. And trust me, several coaches are not that far removed from experiencing a similar outcome.

It’s the nature of the league with so many owners still largely clueless — or just not interested enough in winning or dedicated enough to winning — and so we get unprofessional issues every week with silly game management or not knowing the downs or not getting plays called on time or not getting potential game winning kicks off.

Heck, some people in this league are being paid millions of dollars from franchises worth close to $10 billion, and they are checking more than one of those boxes above. And we wonder why teams go decades without sniffing a title run despite everything about the league being set up to produce parity. Anyway, there have been plenty of moves that haven’t worked out and could use fixing, and we are the type to merely complain about a problem. So here are five struggling NFL teams, the problems holding them back and the moves I’d make to fix them. We’ve got a plan!

Chargers need Jim Harbaugh to take back the offense

Here's the issue: The Chargers have Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. The solution? Jim Harbaugh calls plays. That's it. That’s life in the big leagues. Keep McDaniel around if you want, let him draw up cool run plays and hand you a binder with suggestions, but take this offense back.

Harbaugh has a long and distinguished playing career at QB, and he’s done it all on the offensive side of the ball as a coach. He needs to take ownership of this mess in a big way at the bye. “Jim can call plays, man, come on,” one longtime NFL exec who knows him pretty well explained. “It’s his offense either way.” He needs to get in Justin Herbert’s ear and try to get him cleaned up and performing, and he should probably be the only voice in his head. Man did I get this one wrong.

Cowboys should pay the price for Maxx Crosby

The Cowboys defense still stinks, but Crosby is available. There would be a rich irony after trading Micah Parsons, a younger and highly dynamic edge defender, to Green Bay last year, just to then deal two first-round picks (that’s what it would likely take) to get an older but still elite edge defender coming off a knee repair. But well, Jerry Jones is already running a payroll near $400 million with nothing to show for it. He might not even make the playoffs despite the NFC East being a wreck. Yuck.

The Raiders are on the come-up, but the allure of those picks (and let’s be real, Dallas could still miss the playoffs and that pick would be pretty high) would get Vegas’s attention, and Jones knows how to work Raiders owner Mark Davis.

Lions could get fresh defensive ideas from Wink Martindale

Hire Wink Martindale as a consultant. It's all the rage! On both sides of the ball. Everybody is doing it. And Dan Campbell’s coaching staff, since the loss of Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, needs some new ideas and help from outside the organization more than most.

The Lions' defense really has been horrible, and if they are getting a little healthier on the back end, then it’s time to bring the heat. Few can dial up the gonzo-blitzes like Martindale — he’s done it in the pros and college (down the road at Michigan) — and it seems to be working pretty well for Brian Flores right in that division. Some smart execs I know thought Jerry Jones would bring him in; he opted for Mike Pettine instead (Jerry keeps getting this stuff wrong).

Colts should give Anthony Richardson another chance

The problem is that the Colts don’t have a GM, and let’s be real, that search will take some time. They’ll probably be looking for a new head coach, too. In the meantime, if they’re ever going to find a trade partner for Daniel Jones, he’ll have to be healthier than he is now, and that won’t happen until next season. Look at Kirk Cousins, who needed two years after Achilles surgery to rediscover his form.

Give Richardson a real run before you lose him for nothing. Too many young QBs get discarded too quickly in this league. Salvage something from this season by finding out what you might still be able to unlock in him. As to the original problem here, when an owner has to come out and put a coach and GM on public notice right after a season ends, you should probably just ahead and make the change.

Seahawks should trade for Kenneth Gainwell to revive their run game

Remember when they traded Kenneth Walker? I know they believe they'll be getting back some injured backs, but man, the Seahawks are really thin at RB, and Sam Darnold desperately needs a run game right about now — or a different way to sustain drives. Trade for Gainwell. He can run the ball and turn little checkdowns into something. Plus, he has a playoff pedigree and the Bucs are cooked. They need another element in this moribund offense now, and I don’t know that the coordinator is it, and a rookie RB who gets hurt right away gives me pause.

As for what Walker is doing, well, gulp, it's threatening to be historic.