Chargers Confirm Mike McDaniel OC Hire

Mike McDaniel will not take on a new head coaching position in 2026. After exploring options on that front over the past few days, the ex-Dolphins HC will indeed focus on his offensive coordinator agreement with the Chargers.

The Bolts announced on Monday that McDaniel has officially joined the team. An agreement was reached last week which set him up to take on OC duties in Los Angeles. At the time, though, McDaniel was still a candidate for the head coaching gigs in Vegas and Baltimore. The Raiders have yet to make a hire, but one candidate has officially been removed from consideration.

The Bills are also among the four teams which still have a head coaching vacancy at this point. Buffalo was slated to interview McDaniel, but he withdrew from consideration on Saturday. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, McDaniel was hesitant about meeting with the Bills shortly after working out an arrangement with the Chargers.

As of this weekend, McDaniel was still expected to ultimately take the job with Los Angeles (h/t Dianna Russini of The Athletic). No deal was formally in place at the time, but that has now changed. The Chargers have their Greg Roman replacement in hand. Roman was fired immediately after Los Angeles lost in the wild-card round for the second straight year.

That decision came as little surprise given the Chargers’ struggles on offense during the playoffs under Roman. Nevertheless, it ensured head coach Jim Harbaugh would have someone else operating as his OC for the first time at the NFL level. McDaniel, 42, will certainly represent a notable change on the sidelines for Los Angeles as the team seeks improvement in efficiency.

At times during his Miami tenure, McDaniel guided a unit which thrived in a number of areas. The Dolphins posted a top-six finish in total offense in 2022 and ’23, the years in which Miami reached the postseason. Things did not go according to plan afterwards, with the team regressing in a number of categories. McDaniel is nevertheless regarded as one of the league’s top offensive minds.

That reputation was largely generated during a lengthy period which saw McDaniel work alongside Kyle Shanahan on multiple staffs. From 2017-21, he operated as a key figure in San Francisco. McDaniel was the 49ers’ run-game coordinator for four years before a single campaign in an OC role. That one did not include play-calling duties, but with the Chargers McDaniel will handle those responsibilities.

Several candidates interviewed with the Bolts for their offensive coordinator position, including three other former head coaches. In the end, though, the expected outcome has emerged with McDaniel heading to Los Angeles. His future head coaching stock will no doubt be tied in large part to his ability to maximize the potential of quarterback Justin Herbert and Co. moving forward.