The Los Angeles Chargers are expected to hire former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. He will be replacing Greg Roman in the role, who had previously been Jim Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator in every season he’s been a head coach in the NFL.
McDaniel comes from the Mike Shanahan tree, having spent time under him in Denver and Washington. When Shanahan’s son, Kyle Shanahan, became offensive coordinator of the Browns, McDaniel followed him to Cleveland, as well as to his next stop as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator.
Upon Shanahan’s promotion to the 49ers’ head coach, McDaniel joined him in San Francisco, starting as their run game coordinator and working his way up to offensive coordinator. The Dolphins hired him as their head coach, and he spent four seasons there with a 35-33 record and two playoff appearances.
Miami’s former head coach is returning to his roots, coaching solely on the offensive side of the ball, giving the Chargers an experienced mind on their coaching staff. PFSN evaluates and grades the hire for Los Angeles.
Grading the Mike McDaniel Hire
When the Dolphins were clicking on offense, they had one of the best units in the NFL. In McDaniel’s first year with the team, they finished 11th in PFSN’s Offense Impact in 2022 after going just 25th the year before. They built on that in 2023, finishing with the second-best offense in the league.
Both of his first two seasons with Miami saw them make the playoffs, which they had only done once in the 13 seasons before 2022. They didn’t make it out of the Wild Card round either year, but their improvement from 9-8 to 11-6 in 2023 seemed like things were encouraging going forward.
2024 was a step back for the Dolphins, and they would never return to those playoff heights under McDaniel again. Tua Tagovailoa’s injury problems cost him multiple games in 2024, and he was eventually benched for turnover-heavy play near the end of 2025. A middling defense and reports of lackluster accountability put Miami in a spiral, and in the end, saw them part with their head coach.
There’s no denying that McDaniel is a talented, offensive-minded coach; the real concern is his ability to rally the troops when the going gets tough. He’s a capable leader when his team is playing good football, but when faced with adversity, Miami crumbled under his leadership.
Who better to learn that from than Jim Harbaugh? Notoriously known for his gritty, accountability-heavy style of leadership, the Chargers’ head coach has led strong locker rooms during his stints with Stanford, Michigan, and the 49ers in the NFL.
McDaniel will have plenty of weapons to work with in Los Angeles. The main calling card is obviously quarterback Justin Herbert, but weapons like Omarion Hampton, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Oronde Gadsden II should give their new offensive coordinator a lot of options as a play-caller.
The big question with the Chargers is their shoddy offensive line, but they return Pro Bowl tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt from injury next season. If they can use their resources to fix the interior offensive line this offseason, they could have a top-ten offense in the NFL in 2026.
McDaniel runs a zone-heavy run scheme, which will be a slight difference from the more gap-oriented approach Los Angeles ran in 2025. That said, Omarion Hampton ran a zone-heavy offense in college at North Carolina, and Rashawn Slater had a Pro Bowl in a zone-first run game. The adjustment shouldn’t be the end of the world.
All told, this is a tremendous hire for a Chargers offense that fell short against top competition in 2025. They have the personnel to have a successful offense, but injuries and poor play-calling by Greg Roman limited them this past season. With McDaniel now calling the shots on that side of the ball, the latter shouldn’t be a problem.
