By admin 
When the Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh to be their head coach in early 2024, there was immediate optimism about the direction of the franchise. Finally, after years in the wilderness, they had a true, proven leader of men who had been successful in quickly turning teams around in the past, both at the college and NFL levels.
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In their first season under Harbaugh, the Chargers went from a 5-12 record the previous season to an 11-6 finish and a playoff berth. But they failed to improve on that last season, and the team’s offense seemed plodding and uninspired.
A change was needed, and that was apparently what led to the team hiring Mike McDaniel as its new offensive coordinator. In four years as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach, McDaniel had implemented an explosive offense that often put up big numbers despite the well-documented limitations of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Now, McDaniel will get to work with Justin Herbert, one of football’s most talented quarterbacks, as well as some promising young skill players and two excellent offensive tackles in Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. He will also be working with Harbaugh, a man whom he can help while learning from him.
McDaniel knows this partnership can be mutually beneficial
While both Harbaugh and McDaniel believe in running the football and emphasizing strong offensive line play, McDaniel has the type of offensive mind and ability to implement a more wide-open offense that Harbaugh may lack.
McDaniel said that he is there to help Harbaugh, and vice versa.
“We need each other,” McDaniel told ESPN of his partnership with Harbaugh. “But that’s kind of the beauty of the National Football League … you learn quickly that every year you are putting your career in the hands of all of your teammates.”
Last season, in Harbaugh’s second year at the helm, L.A. was 20th in points and 12th in total yards. While it threw the football more than it did the previous season, it was still lacking something on offense that the NFL’s prominent teams possess.
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As a result, it lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. It put up just three points in a 13-point loss there to the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots, and as Kris Rhim of ESPN pointed out, big changes needed to be made.
“For the past two seasons, the formula for the back-to-back 11-win Chargers has been straightforward: Rely on an elite, Jesse Minter-led defense that holds opponents to below 20 points per game, then hope Herbert makes a few hero plays per game to keep the offense afloat.
“Each season, that recipe fell apart in the playoffs. Over two playoff games under former offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Chargers scored just one touchdown, featuring two of the worst performances that Herbert had as a pro.”
It is hard to win in the NFL with a good defense and an offense that is no better than average — even if, as the Chargers have been at times, a team is not just good but excellent defensively. Now, the Bolts are poised to be very good and perhaps even elite on offense.
McDaniel, as Rhim also wrote, can learn from Harbaugh when it comes to commanding respect from his players. Harbaugh is the type of leader of men who brightens up a room just by walking into it and seems to get players to believe in themselves more than they already do. In some ways, he almost seems like a walking John C. Maxwell book on servant leadership.
McDaniel was fired by the Dolphins in January after they had missed the playoffs in 2024 and 2025. This is an opportunity for him to build up his resume and his reputation across the league while helping Harbaugh add to his resume and reputation.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM.