Sources: Chargers expected to hire Mike McDaniel as OC

LOS ANGELES — The Chargers are expected to hire former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as the team’s new offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington Tuesday night.

McDaniel had interviewed for several head coaching and offensive coordinator positions since the Dolphins fired him last week.

The Buccaneers and Eagles have pursued him as a top offensive coordinator target, with Tampa Bay being particularly diligent in his backcourt, Darlington sources said. However, the lure of returning to California, where he spent years with the San Francisco 49ers, and the chance to coach talented quarterback Justin Herbert helped inform McDaniel’s final decision, and barring a change of heart, he will join coach Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles.

Harbaugh has been searching for a new offensive coordinator since he fired Greg Roman last Tuesday, two days after the team’s 16-3 playoff loss to the New England Patriots in the wild-card round. Roman had been Harbaugh’s only offensive coordinator in the NFL, but Roman’s offense was inconsistent and lacked creativity. In two playoff appearances, the Chargers offense had scored just one touchdown.

Known for his innovative moves and condensed formations that put opposing defenses in a bind, McDaniel’s approach changed offenses league-wide. Former Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott called McDaniel’s offense in Miami “revolutionary.” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan admitted to stealing some of McDaniel’s pre-snap moves in 2023.

At Miami, where he was hired in 2022, McDaniel helped turn around the career of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth overall draft pick in 2020 who had struggled to live up to his selection in the two seasons before McDaniel’s arrival.

In his first year at the helm, McDaniel’s offense finished sixth in total yards, the first time Miami ranked in the top 10 in the category since 1995. The Dolphins led the NFL in total offense in 2023 as Tagovailoa finished with a league-leading 4,624 passing yards and received the only Pro Bowl selection of his career.

The best performance of McDaniel’s Miami tenure came when the Dolphins beat the Denver Broncos 70-20 in 2023 to become the first NFL team to score 70 points with more than 700 yards of offense in a game. Miami tied the NFL record for points scored.

Still, McDaniel went 0-2 in the playoffs and his offense declined over the last two campaigns.

McDaniel benched Tagovailoa after a loss in Week 15 this season, and the Dolphins’ offense didn’t look much improved under rookie Quinn Ewers for the final three games.

McDaniel will be tasked with giving Herbert his first playoff victory. The signal-caller is 0-3 in the postseason, playing some of the worst games of his postseason career.