The Los Angeles Chargers hired former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel to elevate their offense after last season’s struggles despite quarterback Justin Herbert’s brilliance.
Expectations were high as fans waited to catch the first few glimpses of McDaniel’s offense in preseason, but those expectations were shot down as the offense stalled during the Chargers’ 41-17 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday evening.
Breiden Fehoko Rips Mike McDaniel’s Chargers Offense
After the Chargers’ preseason game against the 49ers, former nose tackle Breiden Fehoko put McDaniel’s offense on blast in a lengthy post on X.
“Mike McDaniel’s gimmick offense will only last so long. I know this cause we gave it belt to [expletive] 2022 on Sunday Night Football. When the league caught on to Miami, it was over. Your offensive line will have to protect, and your run game will have to be there in January. Show me, Mike,” Fehoko wrote.
During stints as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator and the Miami Dolphins’ head coach, McDaniel became renowned for his creative offensive schemes.
In 2023, McDaniel famously led the Dolphins to a 70-20 win over the Denver Broncos, a team’s first 70-point game in the Super Bowl era. In addition, the Dolphins registered 726 offensive yards, becoming the first team with 700+ yards since 1951.
START PREPARING: PFN’s Free Fantasy Draft Simulator
When McDaniel was brought on board, an ESPN report revealed that Justin Herbert’s presence attracted him to the Chargers job because of the quarterback’s productivity and talent.
The Chargers OC will have his work cut out for him to protect his star player, since Herbert was one of the league’s most sacked quarterbacks (54), behind Cam Ward and Geno Smith (55). In addition, the Chargers earned a woeful PFN Offensive Line Impact score of 62.8 (No. 31 in the NFL).
Not everyone is down on McDaniels’ Chargers role, though.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM: PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show last week, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah outlined his excitement about McDaniel and Herbert linking up.
“I’m excited to see it. Once we get it all together, I just think of it like a master playbook. You need like a different code to access different portions of the playbook,” Jeremiah said. “McDaniel, we acknowledge the creativity and how good a job he’s done, but he’s never had to access codes to some of the plays he’s going to be able to call and run with Justin.
“When you get that creativity, almost like an artist, and then you pair him with an enormous canvas, I’m excited to see what they end up painting.”
Last season, the Chargers earned a PFN Offense Impact score of 74.3 (No. 19 in the NFL), which led to Greg Roman being fired.
