The Chargers needed only a week to find their “offensive head coach.” They are expected to hire former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their next offensive coordinator, replacing Greg Roman, according to multiple reports citing unnamed NFL sources on Tuesday.
Miami fired McDaniel after going 7-10 this past season, the Dolphins’ second consecutive losing season after they advanced to the AFC playoffs in the 2022 and ’23 seasons. The Chargers fired Roman after their lackluster showing in a wild-card loss to the New England Patriots on Jan. 11.
The Chargers won 11 games in consecutive seasons in Jim Harbaugh’s first two seasons as their head coach, but their offense became stagnant down the stretch of this past season. They ended the season with three straight defeats, including a dreadful 16-3 loss to the Patriots.
Overall, the Chargers ranked 20th in the 32-team NFL in points (21.6 per game), 12th in net yardage (333.8 per game), 12th in net rushing yards (121.6 per game) and, most telling, they were 18th in net passing yards (212.2) despite having one of the league’s top quarterbacks.
Justin Herbert ranked ninth in the league with 3,727 yards during the regular season, completing 66.4% of his passes with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He fell to 0-3 in the playoffs, though, throwing for 159 yards on 19-for-31 passing with no touchdowns or interceptions against the Patriots.
A fractured left, non-throwing hand sustained during the Chargers’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 30 didn’t seem to faze him despite undergoing surgery the next day. He led the Chargers to four consecutive victories, propelling them into the playoffs for consecutive seasons for the first time since 2008-09.
The Chargers’ second consecutive 11-win season came without the aid of their two top tackles, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, who suffered season-ending injuries that forced Harbaugh and Roman to field a patchwork offensive line for most of the season, but especially in the final weeks.
Roman’s play-calling during the wild-card game came under intense scrutiny as the Chargers struggled to adapt offensively against a Patriots defense that unleashed a ferocious pass rush, giving up only a field goal. The Chargers fired him on Jan. 13, citing a need for a fresh start and a new direction.
“It’s our responsibility to get up to his level,” Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said last week of surrounding Herbert with top-quality teammates and coaches, too. “We’re continually striving to do that. … “We weren’t good enough (this past season) and our goal was to be good enough.”
Harbaugh said he sought an “offensive head coach” to replace Roman.
Roman worked with Harbaugh when they were together at Stanford and then with the San Francisco 49ers. Roman also worked with Harbaugh’s brother, John, while they were with the Baltimore Ravens. Roman joined Jim Harbaugh when he took the Chargers’ job in 2024.
McDaniel, 42, was highly regarded while directing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to wild-card appearances in 2022 and ’23, after Miami had missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons. His innovative play-calling and offensive schemes emphasizing speed put opposing defenses on their heels.
Sean McDermott, while coaching the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills in September 2023, called the Dolphins’ schematics “almost revolutionary in what they do. Coach McDaniel is very creative and does a lot of things to get you out of position on defense.”
McDaniel was 35-33 in four seasons with the Dolphins, his first as an NFL head coach. He also served as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator during the 2021 season. He began his career as an intern with the Denver Broncos in 2005 and has held various coaching roles with several teams.