By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike McDaniel has agreed to become the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive coordinator.
The Chargers announced the hiring Monday of McDaniel, who spent the past four seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach. McDaniel was fired less than three weeks ago after going 35-33 at Miami, which missed the playoffs in the past two years.
After interviewing for multiple head coaching jobs this month, McDaniel has agreed to join Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers, who finished their second straight 11-6 season under their veteran head coach with another playoff exit in the wild-card round.
Harbaugh fired Greg Roman, a longtime friend and his only previous NFL offensive coordinator, this month just two days after the end of another season in which the Bolts failed to maximize the talents of Justin Herbert, who has never won a playoff game despite being widely considered one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks through his first six seasons. Los Angeles lost 16-3 to the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots.
Harbaugh and the Chargers spent the past week hoping to lock down McDaniel, who is widely considered one of the top offensive minds in football. He worked under Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers before taking over the Dolphins, who had one of the NFL’s most productive offenses throughout his up-and-down tenure.
McDaniel reportedly spoke to the Ravens, Browns and Raiders about their head coaching positions.
Although McDaniel shares Harbaugh’s love for a strong running game, the Chargers’ new passing offense is all but guaranteed to be more modern and more versatile than the schemes run this season by the Chargers, who relied extensively on stretching the field and seemingly depended on Herbert to create magic — particularly in the red zone, where LA struggled mightily — rather than making Herbert’s job easier by offering the simpler targets usually created for McDaniel’s quarterbacks.
Herbert’s talent also will be a boost to McDaniel, whose offense succeeded in Miami with Tua Tagovailoa, whose arm strength doesn’t measure up to Herbert’s cannon.
Herbert’s ability to throw everywhere on the field and his mobility behind the line of scrimmage will provide plenty of options for McDaniel’s play-calling. The Bolts’ offense will also improve next year simply through the healthy return of starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, one of the NFL’s top duos at those key positions before they were lost for the season to injury.
Herbert passed for 3,727 yards with 26 touchdowns last season despite not having a true No. 1 receiver who produced more than 800 yards. Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston will be back, while Keenan Allen is a free agent after leading the Chargers with 81 catches.
Harbaugh will have two new coordinators next season after the Baltimore Ravens hired Jesse Minter, Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator with the Chargers and at the University of Michigan, as their new head coach.
The Chargers have interviewed former Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr and Rams assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant for the job along with former Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who is headed to the New York Giants instead.
The Bolts will introduce McDaniel on Tuesday at their training complex in El Segundo.
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