Chargers make shocking hire of former Dolphins HC as offensive coordinator

The Los Angeles Chargers will be hiring former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, according to multiple reports, bringing in a renowned offensive mind for star Justin Herbert.

Per a report from ESPN, McDaniel is meeting with Los Angeles on Tuesday night for dinner, and the expectations are that he will sign on as the coordinator.

McDaniel was let go at the end of the season by the Dolphins after a disappointing season. He was brought in to be a quarterback whisperer for Tua Tagovailoa.

While the former Alabama QB saw a resurgence in play, he did not sustain the level the franchise needed, resulting in his benching at the end of this season, and the organization plans to move on from him.

It looked like McDaniel was headed out, too, though a late-season turnaround improved his results to the point where he looked safe, until they ultimately decided to move on during exit interviews.

The Chargers are hoping to make it easier on McDaniel by removing all of the head coach responsibilities and bringing him on to run the entire offense.

Los Angeles ran an incredibly vanilla scheme under former coordinator Greg Roman, leaving the offense without answers against top defenses.

What does McDaniel bring to the Chargers?

With McDaniel, they get someone who brings an innovative scheme with tons of motion, simple reads, and advanced run concepts that offer plenty of eye candy for defenders.

He created plenty of easy decisions for Tagovailoa, limiting the amount of process that he needed to do and playing to his strengths.

McDaniel’s run game ideas generated the most amount of praise from football experts, and with two promising young running backs in Los Angeles, he should have plenty of success.

Additionally, the offensive lines in Miami were not great, and he still found success, a major selling point for the Chargers, whose offensive line is injury-prone and lacked quality down the stretch.

Herbert could be in line for a career season, especially with the offensive system making things easier and not forcing the issue on a regular basis.

The Chargers still need significant improvement on offense, especially in depth. The braintrust of McDaniels and Jim Harbaugh should deliver a better product in Los Angeles, which is entering a critical season under the head coach.