{"id":544572,"date":"2026-01-26T17:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/544572\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T17:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:49:13","slug":"chargers-hire-ex-dolphins-coach-mike-mcdaniel-as-offensive-coordinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/544572\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers hire ex-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Chargers<\/a> hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel<\/a> as their new offensive coordinator Monday as they look to maximize quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a>\u2018s talents in the wake of another one-and-done playoff exit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fired by the Dolphins on Jan. 8 after a 7-10 season, McDaniel went 35-33 over four seasons in South Beach. His hiring comes less than two weeks after Herbert fell to 0-3 in the playoffs following a 16-3 AFC wild-card loss<\/a> to the New England Patriots, resulting in offensive coordinator Greg Roman\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n

With defensive coordinator Jesse Minter leaving to become coach of the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh will have two new coordinators in 2026.<\/p>\n

Considered one of the NFL\u2019s leading offensive innovators when he was hired by the Dolphins after a one-year stint as offensive coordinator in San Francisco, McDaniel guided Miami to back-to-back playoff berths in 2022 and \u201923. In McDaniel\u2019s first season, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa<\/a> passed for 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns in 13 games. He then passed for a league-leading 4,624 yards with 29 touchdowns in 2023 at the front of the league\u2019s top offense (401 net yards per game).<\/p>\n

The Dolphins, however, were winless in the playoffs under McDaniel. And Tagovailoa\u2019s injury-limited 2024 season, coupled with his deteriorating performances this season, factored into McDaniel\u2019s firing. <\/p>\n

Still, McDaniel\u2019s reputation as an offensive guru made him a prime candidate not just for coordinator positions, but for head coaching vacancies too. He reportedly interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans before deciding to join Harbaugh\u2019s staff. He also reportedly withdrew from consideration for the Cleveland Browns\u2019 head coaching job and canceled an interview for the Buffalo Bills head coaching vacancy before formalizing his deal with the Chargers.<\/p>\n

Harbaugh said last week he wanted \u201ca head coach of the offense,\u201d someone who \u201cteaches, installs and puts the players in the best position to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of that wish list will center on McDaniel establishing a run game to complement Herbert \u2014 something that never fully materialized under Roman and Harbaugh.<\/p>\n

The Chargers clearly prioritized the rush last offseason when they signed Najee Harris and drafted Omarion Hampton in the first round. But season-ending injuries to Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt and Harris, coupled with Hampton being undermined by ankle injuries, thwarted meaningful year-over-year gains (122 yards per game in 2025; 111 in 2024).<\/p>\n

With the offensive line set to return to full strength and general manager Joe Hortiz saying he\u2019s willing to spend some of the team\u2019s estimated $103 million in salary-cap space, the Chargers are well-positioned for another postseason run in 2026.<\/p>\n

Whether McDaniel can help Herbert end his playoff winless streak remains to be seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chargers hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator Monday as they…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":544573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[532,1582,276,7151,15917,239856,48551,1910,58008,14499,58000,2961,224,5337,239855,20972,1424,5950,2452,80883],"class_list":{"0":"post-544572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-baltimore-ravens","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-chargers","12":"tag-dolphins","13":"tag-ex-dolphin-coach-mike-mcdaniel","14":"tag-firing","15":"tag-game","16":"tag-harbaugh","17":"tag-head","18":"tag-herbert","19":"tag-la","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-mcdaniel","23":"tag-offensive-coordinator","24":"tag-playoff","25":"tag-season","26":"tag-week","27":"tag-yard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115962666596294311","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}