LOS ANGELES -- The Chargers are expected to hire former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as the team's new offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington on Tuesday night.
McDaniel had interviewed for multiple head coaching and offensive coordinator positions since the Dolphins fired him last week.
The Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles pursued him as their top offensive coordinator target, with Tampa Bay especially diligent in its courtship, sources told Darlington. However, the lure of getting back 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'll join coach Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles.
Harbaugh has been looking for a new offensive coordinator since firing 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 innovativeness with motions and condensed formations that put opposing defenses in a bind, McDaniel's approach changed offenses leaguewide. Former Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott called McDaniel's offense in Miami "revolutionary." Niners coach Kyle Shanahan admitted he stole some of McDaniel's pre-snap motions in 2023.
In Miami, where he was hired in 2022, McDaniel helped turn around the career of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth draft pick in 2020 who had struggled to perform up to his selection in the two seasons before McDaniel arrived.
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, and Tagovailoa finished with a league-leading 4,624 passing yards and the only Pro Bowl selection of his career.
The best performance of McDaniel's tenure in Miami came when the Dolphins beat the Denver Broncos 70-20 in 2023 to become the first NFL team to score 70 points with 700-plus yards of offense in a game. Miami tied the NFL record for most points scored.
Still, McDaniel went 0-2 in playoff appearances, and his offense declined over the past 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 contests.
McDaniel will be tasked with getting Herbert his first playoff win. The signal-caller is 0-3 in the postseason, playing some of the worst games of his career in the playoffs.