Yesterday, just about every reputable NFL reporter published that the Los Angeles Chargers are expected to hire former Miami Dolphins head coach and former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel to replace Greg Roman as the Chargers' new offensive coordinator.

First of all, apologies to anyone who has been getting their Chargers news and opinions from me, I was wrong on this one. I didn't understand why McDaniel would take an OC job while interviewing for head coaching gigs and I didn't see Jim Harbaugh hiring someone he had never worked with for what appears to be a one-year mercenary type of situation.

To me, this (not yet official) hire says a few of things about both the Chargers and McDaniel:

Former San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer loved to tell his players that there was a gleam before sending them out there to get that gleam.

Even players from his own team admit to not fully understanding what Marty meant, but most assume the gleam came from the light at the end of the tunnel (or the light shining off the Super Bowl trophy). 

I believe, similarly, that it was Marty's way of saying that there was a chance to win it all. No bullsh*t, no coach speak, there's a chance....go out there and make the chance a reality.

If Mike McDaniel is coming to coach the Los Angeles Chargers offense in 2026, it's because he believes in what is being built here and he thinks there's a chance for the team to have a better season/postseason than what they've suffered each of the last two seasons. If not, he would not have passed up (seemingly) better opportunities elsewhere.

Clearly, McDaniel thinks that he can put together a dynamic offense around Omarion Hampton and Justin Herbert and the collection of receivers the Chargers have, enough for him to continue getting interviews for head coach vacancies in the future.

You don't just have to believe in the Chargers talent to pick this job over head coaching opportunities with the Browns, Falcons, Ravens and Titans. You have to believe that the Chargers talent has been so mismanaged that a fresh approach will make all the difference in the world.

Sure, the Chargers will likely look to add an offensive lineman or two this offseason, but they're not going to completely remake the line or any other part of this offense that finished the season 18th in first downs and 20th in points scored.

To put this into realty terms, a house is only a fixer-upper if it has good bones to build around. If the neighborhood is crap and the foundation has a crack in it, it's just a bad house.

There's a pretty dramatic difference between what we have seen from Greg Roman's offense and what we've seen from Mike McDaniel's offense, and the latter clearly thinks his strategies will go a long way towards improvement in L.A.

Maybe Mike McDaniel knew he wouldn't be getting a job offer from the Falcons or Ravens. Maybe he wasn't actually interested in trying to rebuild something from the ground up in Cleveland or Tennessee. Maybe he decided that there would be better options for him next offseason.

Or maybe he just wanted to coach a tall QB with a cannon for an arm for once. The Dolphins famously drafted Tua Tagovailoa 5th overall int he 2020 NFL Draft, one pick ahead of Justin Herbert, and have probably regretted it ever since.

McDaniel was able to make it work for a couple of seasons, leading the Dolphins to a top 10 offense in 2022 and a top 3 offense in 2023 before Tua's head injuries caught up to the team in 2024 (when Tyler Huntley and Skylar Thompson went 2-4 over 6 starts) and his lack of arm strength caught up to them in 2025.

Perhaps McDaniel just wants to prove that the 25th ranked offense in 2025 wasn't his fault, that he still knows how to coach a modern NFL offense, and there's no softer landing for him than with an established head coach that wants to run the ball and an established QB that never misses time and can make any throw.

It sounds like we'll all get to find out.