War is over. Justin Herbert has his 2026 playcaller! And what a shock it is, from Greg Roman’s 2000s offense to the man I called a “dream hire,” Mike McDaniel, and his ever-evolving Shanahan style of offense!

Today’s Hottest Take: This Is Already The Best Playcaller that Justin Herbert Has Had

Now, at first glance, this is not a scorching take. I implore you to look at the names that Herbert has had calling plays: current Saints HC and Super Bowl-winning play caller with the Eagles, Kellen Moore, and current Colts HC and NFC Champion play caller, also with the Eagles, Shane Steichen. Two highly regarded offensive minds in the league, and I’m going to put McDaniel over both of them.

The main reason will be, as in most situations regarding the Chargers, Justin Herbert. Mike McDaniel’s entire stint as a playcaller in the NFL was tethered to Tua Tagovailoa and whatever backup quarterback filled in when Tua went down with an injury. Tua is a quarterback that requires a very distinct style of offense, utilizing anticipation, RAC opportunities, and almost entirely from the pocket, all restrictions that go out the window when you have a six-foot-six rocket-armed QB with impressive mobility.

McDaniel has proven that he can adapt his offense to the talent he is presented with, not try to make the square peg fit in the round hole because of stubborn schematics, so expect him to maintain an emphasis on RAC opportunities, a dramatic increase in presnap motion to give Justin Herbert more information pre-snap, and expect a run game that is less three yards and a cloud of dust and more get the edge and on your mark, get set, go. Kellen Moore and Steichen both had success with Herbert, but I firmly believe this is an opportunity to see the best version of Herbert we have seen in 2026, with McDaniel being the “head coach of the offense,” as Jim Harbaugh puts it.

I’m fully expecting McDaniel to put his creative offense to work with two healthy All-Pro caliber tackles in returning Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, multiple RAC threats in the form of Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris, a true weapon in the slot in Ladd McConkey, but truthfully, I’m most excited to see what he does with second-year tight end Oronde Gadsden II. McDaniel has always gotten production out of his tight ends, from Mike Gesicki early on, Jonnu Smith, or even Darren Waller off the couch this past season, and Gadsden fits the super-versatile, athletic mold of those two.

Credit to where credit is due, as Harbaugh has completely bucked his historical trends, his friendships in the workplace, and left his comfort zone to bring in a totally different style of coach in Mike McDaniel.

What You Need to Know: Mike McDaniel By The Numbers

Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t! (Well, sometimes at least.) Mike McDaniel’s offenses came out of the gate at a historic level early in his tenure in Miami, but came to a halt these last two seasons in direct correlation with the decline of Tua.

Obviously, context is a very important tool. Because in 2024 this average is weighed down by the fact that Tua missed multiple games, and in those games the offense scored three, 12, 15, 16, and 20 points. If you remove those games, the offenses' PPG average goes from 20.3, good for 22nd, to 25.5 PPG, which would have been good for 10th in the NFL. Now the question mark goes to 2025. What the hell happened? Well, when your season ends with the consensus that your quarterback is no longer the guy, it’s usually a telling sign that the quarterback play drastically tailed off.

The loss of Tyreek Hill definitely played a part in the offensive fall-off, but I think, as there are negatives, it’s important to point out that, despite the offensive fall-off, McDaniel did a phenomenal job understanding his personnel once again as the season went on. Tua struggled, and as a result, instead of McDaniel’s offense running headfirst into a wall, McDaniel tried to find solutions with even more easy buttons for his struggling QB (something Roman refused to do), as well as leaning on Devon Achane in every facet, similarly to how the 49ers leaned on Christian McCaffery.

Before You Go: It's A One-Year Pit Stop

It can’t all be sunshine and rainbows. The main drawback of hiring a name like Mike McDaniel was always going to be the expectation that it’s a one-year thing, considering the amount of buzz McDaniel was receiving as a head coach candidate this cycle, and all reports point to the fact that McDaniel could have taken a HC gig this year but made a conscious decision to be an offensive coordinator this year. I think it is clear that McDaniel didn’t come here just to work with No. 10, but to learn under the leader of men that is Coach Harbaugh.

One of McDaniel’s biggest criticisms was that his teams were “soft” and particularly struggled in cold weather, something you will never hear from a Harbaugh team. I think McDaniel will benefit drastically from being under Jim Harbaugh and will make him a much better head coach in the long run, and I think he knows that, considering there was a criticism of McDaniel’s inability to be a “leader of men.”

The good news for Bolts fans is that in the almost inevitable reality that McDaniel leaves for a HC gig next year, the Chargers would garner two third-round compensatory picks, something that will 100% ease the burden of having to find his replacement.