EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers introduced Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator Tuesday at The Bolt, their team facility.
Over a wide-ranging news conference that lasted more than 40 minutes, McDaniel discussed his vision for the offense, how he plans to elevate quarterback Justin Herbert, his philosophical synergy with coach Jim Harbaugh and much more.
Here are all the most important things McDaniel said and what they mean as the Chargers pivot to a new offensive system and play caller in Year 3 of the Harbaugh era.
1. McDaniel acknowledged Herbert’s “rare” ability to create in off-script situations. He also acknowledged the risk of being too dependent on that out-of-structure playmaking. This was a trap former Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman fell into far too often in his two years calling plays in Los Angeles.
“Not relying too heavily on Justin’s ability to do above and beyond, I think, is critical to maximize those types of opportunities,” McDaniel said. “That will be one of the first things that we’ll try to do, is take a little off his plate so that he is free to do that when his greatness is required.”
The idea of taking some weight off Herbert’s shoulders is not necessarily new. In fact, at his introductory news conference in 2024, Roman hinted at a similar idea. “Can you imagine Justin Herbert with a great running game?” Roman said then. “That’s kind of how I look at it.”
coach knew these guys were special pic.twitter.com/SmLUvqBTBX
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 27, 2026
McDaniel’s approach is clearly more layered and multifaceted than Roman’s was. Yes, building a reliable run game is one way to take pressure off Herbert and establish a more balanced infrastructure. McDaniel certainly plans to do that. But he also laid out a vision for how he plans to take some of that weight off Herbert specifically in the passing game.
This feels like an important distinction. Because while Roman did improve the Chargers’ rushing attack to a degree, the offense still largely counted on Herbert’s off-script creation — with his arms and legs — for passing-game production. That was especially the case in 2025.
“It can be taxing over time for a player to necessitate an incredible play too often to be able to score points and win football games,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel revealed two key ways in which he plans to take a little off Herbert’s plate in the passing game.
The first is more quick-game concepts.
“You try to take it off of him by creating some low-cost, high-reward offense that he’s firmly capable of doing but maybe a player of lesser talent would be capable of doing, as well,” McDaniel said. “He’s still going to be able to pump the ball down the field. You got to use that cannon that he has as an arm. But maybe having some quicker, ball-out passes at a higher frequency.”
McDaniel proved this idea during his time as head coach and play caller for the Miami Dolphins.
From 2022 to 2025, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa averaged 18.3 passes thrown in 2.3 seconds or less per game, according to TruMedia. That was the third-highest average among 38 passer-rating-qualified quarterbacks in that span. From 2024 to 2025, his two seasons playing for Roman, Herbert averaged 11.8 passes thrown in 2.3 seconds or less per game. That average ranked No. 27 among 33 passer-rating-qualified quarterbacks over that span.
“So much of the National Football League defense is post-snap,” McDaniel said. “They want to hide the picture from the quarterback pre-snap. To do that, they give pre-snap space. You can take advantage of that space with quick throws and getting the ball in and out.
“One of the best blockers that you can have is an open eligible No. 1 in a quick amount of time. Even the best pass rushers, it takes time to beat an offensive lineman. If you beat pass rush with a throw, it can frustrate opponents, it can get pass rushers to take chances and void gaps. … Justin, he’s also really fast, so if you void pass rush lanes and abandon them early because of frustration because you’re getting the ball out too quick, his skill sets afford you ways to make people pay in that way, as well.”
The second schematic strategy McDaniel discussed is quarterback movement. McDaniel’s first coaching job was in 2005 as an intern on Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos staff. McDaniel then worked for the Houston Texans under Gary Kubiak, who was Shanahan’s offensive coordinator for a decade in Denver. McDaniel then worked under Kyle Shanahan, Mike’s son, at multiple stops, including the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers.
The origins of the Shanahan scheme — and thereby the McDaniel scheme — are rooted in outside zone stretch runs with play-action bootleg concepts built off those runs. The defense flows one way to defend the run, and the quarterback takes advantage of that flow by reversing in the opposite direction.
“That’s one of the first core pretenses,” McDaniel said of these movement concepts. “Make a defense defend something and then take advantage of their overplay, that systematic approach to how I kind of look at offense.”
When schemed and called correctly, this offensive structure can be very difficult to defend. Herbert has never played for an offensive coordinator from this tree, which has also produced Rams head coach Sean McVay.
“That’s all defenses are trying to do, is they’re trying to guess a play they don’t know,” McDaniel said. “So if you can take advantage of them over-pursuing the run, that gives a quarterback with supreme arm talent a lot of space to make a throw down the field. That is integral to how I kind of see football. The one thing that I can state with certainty is that there will be a blend of run and pass, and it will be trying to maximize the conflict that we put defenses in in their responsibilities.”
More quick game. More quarterback movement. That is a wonderful foundation from which to build for this new version of the Chargers’ offense.
2. Early in the news conference, McDaniel mentioned that joining “like-minded football people” was a driving force in taking the Chargers job.
When asked to expand on that comment specifically in regard to Harbaugh, McDaniel provided an illuminating answer. Where exactly is the overlap with Harbaugh?
“He likes to run the ball,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel spent four seasons as Kyle Shanahan’s run-game coordinator with the 49ers, something he mentioned in his response to this question.
“Some of my run-game prowess in the past has been finding different solutions for light boxes when you’re adept at pass to run the ball,” McDaniel said. “That core foundational belief of football is inside out and prioritizing the line of scrimmage play and being able to win games when you have a lead with nine minutes to go in the game and you can keep the defense off the field. I think those types of things, that’s where the like-minded, Football 101, core values of football kind of overlap.”
As we have mentioned over the past week, there is synergy here philosophically between McDaniel and Harbaugh.
They might get to runs in different ways. In Miami, McDaniel featured more outside zone and misdirection to attack the edges of defenses. Harbaugh, over the past two years with Roman, tried to build predominantly a downhill rushing attack that featured more gap-scheme runs between the tackles. But I am not convinced that Harbaugh is married to any specific run scheme. He is more concerned with having a physical identity and being able to impose his will in the running game at the right moments.
For Harbaugh, how an offense gets there is not as important as being consistent in that phase. McDaniel can produce the type of consistent run game Harbaugh craves.
“Jim appreciates the evolution of the game and different ways that you can try to attack how people are defending you,” McDaniel said.
It will be fascinating to see how these two worlds collide. There is a ton of overlap in the end goal and the intention.
the mindset pic.twitter.com/9E14cB7Wm7
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 27, 2026
3. When asked about the Chargers’ current collection of skill players, McDaniel specifically mentioned players “drafted here in the last two years.” Notably that group includes receiver Ladd McConkey, drafted in the second round in 2024, and running back Omarion Hampton, drafted in the first round in 2025.
Both those young players are exciting fits in McDaniel’s scheme.
A lot has been made of the immense speed McDaniel had on his Miami offenses, from receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to running back De’Von Achane. As McDaniel said Tuesday, though, “I’ve always appreciated speed. It’s not the end-all, be-all.”
McConkey has more than enough speed. More importantly, he has other elite traits in his skill set, including his route-running.
Hampton has more than enough speed. More importantly, he has other elite traits in his skill set, including his power and vision.
“Try to get the best football players,” McDaniel said. “Hopefully some of your football players have speed.”
McDaniel’s voiced a vision that revolves around adapting his scheme to the personnel. He mentioned bringing run-pass options to Miami because it was a concept Tagovailoa enjoyed executing. He said he had never featured run-pass options in any of his offenses before joining the Dolphins. It became one of Miami’s most-used concepts.
McDaniel mentioned having two smaller, faster receivers in Hill and Waddle in Miami. At their sizes, Hill and Waddle were prone to being diminished by more physical press coverage from bigger cornerbacks. So McDaniel incorporated jet motion — pre-snap movement from one side of the formation to the other — to create free releases for Hill and Waddle. He built entire route trees off the jet motions that became a staple of his Dolphins offense.
Those are just two examples of a broader philosophy.
“There’s adaptability that I think is super important just in life in general, but particularly the state of where football is and how you have to evolve to keep a competitive edge,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel will find ways to maximize the skill sets of his most dangerous weapons, starting with McConkey and Hampton.
“Solving different problems affords you different sorts of solutions,” McDaniel said. “Ultimately our Chargers offense will look different than any offense that I’ve coached before or any offense in the league. I think that’s important when you’re trying to find competitive advantages in a league and division with a lot of parity.”
4. McDaniel put into words a lot of what was evident on the film from his four years with Miami.
One big question that could not be answered by the film: What will his offense look like when he has a quarterback with the arm talent to access any area on the field at any moment? He did not have that quarterback in Tagovailoa.
“Well, we shall see,” McDaniel said when asked that very question.
He later expanded.
“What are defenses trying to do? They’re trying to defend space and minimize the amount of space that you can defend,” McDaniel said. “Being able to access players deeper down the field with a wide array of quarterback actions and movements increases the amount of space that they have to defend, which overall should give all of your ball-catchers, receivers, your running backs, all eligibles more space when they do catch something underneath.”
That is an interesting by-product. Yes, McDaniel will be able to push the ball downfield in a way he couldn’t with Tagovailoa. At the same time, the mere threat of downfield access will create even more opportunities for yards-after-the-catch opportunities in the shorter area of the field.
“It will be exciting,” McDaniel said.
5. McDaniel interviewed for multiple head-coaching jobs, including with the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens. The Browns and Raiders jobs were still open when he signed with the Chargers.
If everything goes according to plan, the Chargers will have an elite offense in 2026, and McDaniel will be a premium candidate in the next cycle.
“My end goal of being able to bring championships to an organization as a head coach, that still is in place,” McDaniel said Tuesday. “I don’t think my long vision has changed, but I very much am firmly where my feet are right now, which is being the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, and being the very best at that. And typically, if you approach things that way, kind of put your blinders on and put your noise-canceling headphones on in the world, you end up liking the product that creates.”
Here is the reality: The Chargers can cross that bridge when they get there. The ultimate goal this offseason was hiring the very best offensive play caller for Herbert and the offense. They achieved that goal. If it ends after one season, it ends after one season. That is a 2027 problem.
6. Finally, McDaniel was asked about the offensive staff. The Chargers still have a vacant offensive line coach position, after they fired Mike Devlin along with Roman. McDaniel said he has “targeted individuals” for that role. As far as elsewhere on the offensive staff, McDaniel said, “We’re still looking at it. It’s early. But I’ll be going through each and every coach and making sure it’s the right fit for where we’re moving forward.”
Of note: McDaniel and quarterbacks coach Shane Day worked together for two years in San Francisco in 2019 and 2020.
