Chargers officially hire former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator
The Los Angeles Chargers officially announced the hiring of Mike McDaniel as the team's new offensive coordinator on Monday, who they called the "top offensive play-calling candidate of this coaching cycle."
McDaniel previously served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins for the last four seasons. During that time, they made two playoff appearances and finished with a 35-33 record. He is widely regarded for his offensive play-calling and ability to maximize output from his quarterbacks.
"Throw out whatever word you want — creative, innovative, revolutionary — and it applies to McDaniel's football mind," the Chargers said in a release on their website.
During his time as coach, the Dolphins led the league in total offense and passing offense in 2023. They also finished second in the league in scoring offense that season. In the release, the Chargers noted that Miami's '23 offense was just the 18th in NFL history to have a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher.
McDaniel had also interviewed for the head coach position with the Las Vegas Raiders and the Buffalo Bills before it was reported that he was heading to Los Angeles to join head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff.
McDaniel graduated from Yale University in 2004, where he was a wide receiver on the football team.
Before his time with the Dolphins, McDaniel coached under the tutelage of several notable NFL coaches, including Mike Shanahan with the Denver Broncos in 2005 and with the Washington Redskins from 2011 to 2013, Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017 to 2021, Gary Kubiak with the Houston Texans in 2006, and Dan Quinn with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015. He also acted as the running backs coach for Dennis Green, who led the Minnesota Vikings to eight playoff appearances from 1992 to 2001, in the United Football League from 2009 to 2010.
He's appeared in two Super Bowls, with the Falcons in 2017 and the 49ers in 2020.
McDaniel replaces Greg Roman, who was hired in 2024 when Harbaugh became the Chargers' newest head coach. Roman was fired in early January after they failed to advance past the AFC Wild Card Round.
The Bolts still haven't hired a defensive coordinator after Jesse Minter was hired as the new head coach of the Baltimore Ravens after they parted ways with John Harbaugh, their longtime coach and brother of the Chargers' skipper.