Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel switched coasts following his ouster from the Miami Dolphins, joining up with the Bolts.
The pairing made perfect sense, tying McDaniel's high-octane offense with one of the game's brightest signal-callers, Justin Herbert. Thus far, the vision that led the former head coach to take the OC job is matching early results.
"I had very, very lofty expectations. Justin's up there as one of the main motivating factors of moving my family here," McDaniel said Friday, per . "Lofty expectations and I can say with absolute certainty he's exceeded those. Just very motivated and focused."
McDaniel added: "I've been very impressed, very motivated to continue the process because so far, so good. We're at the very beginning stages of the race, but at this stage I couldn't be happier with that working relationship and the process moving forward with him."
All teams bask in positivity during the early days of May, still near the outset of offseason programs when optimism runs rampant.
The need for an offensive refresh with McDaniel arose from a much different place, stemming from two consecutive postseason duds under former OC Greg Roman, wild-card exits in which Herbert and Co. managed a combined 15 points.
Regardless, McDaniel has come in and successfully shooed away any ominous clouds before, such as when he took over a Dolphins team in 2022 that had made the playoffs twice in two decades and promptly delivered two straight postseason runs. As part of his transformative touch in Miami (before things went south the past two seasons), McDaniel took a wayward Tua Tagovailoa and helped him to a top-10 finish in MVP voting in their first season together and a Pro Bowl with a league-leading 4,624 passing yards during their second.
His starting point with Herbert, selected one pick after Tagovailoa in the 2020 draft, is considerably higher.
Although he's yet to log a playoff victory in three tries, Herbert is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the league, a sure passer who stands tall in the pocket. The goal isn't to prove he belongs, as it was to a degree with Tagovailoa, but to take his game to another level to propel the Chargers over the hump.
"We're looking to master and be elite at everything that we do and being able to own the position in a new way," McDaniel said. "Being able for him to own the position a way he never has and ultimately, for it to be obvious to everyone around that he's playing the best football of his career."
Part of that process includes Herbert speeding up his clock. McDaniel mentioned challenging Herbert to work on his footwork and develop a quicker rhythm, and told reporters the Chargers QB is unique among the elite at his position in his willingness to try new things.
Much of the heat Herbert faced last season came playing behind a battered offensive line, which was down both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, but continuing to master a faster tempo could still do wonders even as the O-line returns to full strength. Herbert took an average time to throw of 2.90 seconds last season, 11th slowest among passers with at least 200 attempts, ranked third in QB pressure percentage (43.3), third in sacks (54) and first in pressures (268), per Next Gen Stats.
There's no reason to remove the improvisation element of his game, which he excels at, but the Chargers will only go as far as Herbert takes them. It's imperative that he takes fewer hits playing within the new system.
It's one of the objectives McDaniel has laid out in the offseason program -- that, and the overarching goal of Herbert turning Year 7 in the NFL into his best yet.
