Mike McDaniel has a new job, but it won’t come as a head coach.
The former Dolphins coach is expected to become the next offensive coordinator of the Chargers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported on Tuesday night.
McDaniel was slated for a second interview for the Browns’ head coaching vacancy but pulled out of the running Tuesday before his interview with Los Angeles, NFL Network reported earlier in the day.
While nothing is official yet, McDaniel was meeting with the Chargers throughout Tuesday with a dinner as part of the plans, The Athletic reported.
Mike McDaniel looks on before the Dolphins’ win over the Bengals this past regular season. Getty Images
He was also in consideration for the Ravens and Raiders head coaching opportunities.
The Chargers fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and offensive line coach Mike Devlin after the team’s disappointing 16-3 loss to the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs.
McDaniel will now get to work with head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Justin Herbert as the Chargers look to take the next step after back-to-back seasons in which they’ve lost in the wild-card round.
A former 49ers offensive coordinator, McDaniel comes back to the West Coast after four seasons in South Beach. In 2023, his second year leading the Dolphins, McDaniel’s offensive prowess was on full display when the team finished first in yards and second in points.
But the Dolphins never came close to that success in the last two seasons, and thanks in large part to injuries and inconsistency from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Miami ranked 26th in yards and 25th in scoring during a 7-10 campaign.
McDaniel finished his Miami tenure with a 35-33 mark and two playoff appearances.
Now set to work with Herbert, McDaniel gets a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback who has thrown at least 20 touchdowns and 3,000 yards in six consecutive seasons to start his career. But the big knock on Herbert is his playoff production — two touchdowns to four interceptions on a 54.7 completion percentage in three losses. Whether unfairly or not, that’ll almost undoubtedly be part of the challenge for McDaniel in Los Angeles.