Justin Herbert has a new offensive coordinator, two years after Jim Harbaugh replaced Brandon Staley as head coach.
Staley once called Herbert, "Humble, a silent killer with great hair." Despite his respect for Herbert's competitiveness and ability to launch the deep ball, he never could keep the Charger defense from blowing leads. The team was 24-24 during his time there.
McDaniel has been in the league 19 years, the former head coach at Miami. He's widely known as an offensive guru and film wizard.
"Got a quarterback who I've always admired," McDaniel said Tuesday, meeting the media for the first time in his new role.
The collaboration should do wonders for Herbert, who was sacked 54 times last season. In December he had to have surgery for a broken bone in his left hand. Though he had a plate and a couple of screws inserted, he didn't miss a game, finishing the season with a cast on his nonthrowing hand, making it harder to take shotgun snaps.
Herbert came into the league in 2020, the No. 6 draft choice in the NFL draft and the third quarterback taken after Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, who played for McDaniel with the Dolphins. In six seasons the 2020 Rose Bowl champion has thrown for 24,820 yards with 163 touchdowns but taken a beating behind a patchwork offensive line.
In 2023 he signed a five-year $262.5 million contract extension that briefly made him the highest-paid player in the league. According to Forbes magazine, he made $71 million last year. So there's financial stability, a second reason for the optimism in 2026.
McDaniel has a plan to make things easier for his wondrously talented new pupil while protecting him better.
An improved offensive design could give Herbert more options
"You can take advantage of that space with quick throws and getting the ball in and out," McDaniel said. "The pass rush, one of the best blockers you can have is an open, eligible No. 1 [receiving option] in a quick amount of time.
"Even the best pass rushers, it takes time to beat offensive linemen and if you beat pass rush with a throw, it can frustrate opponents and get pass rushers to take chances and void gaps that Justin — he's also really fast — so if you void pass-rush lanes and abandon them early because of frustration and he's getting the ball out too quick, his skillsets afford you to make people pay in that way as well," McDaniel continued.
"So, I would say some quicker completions," McDaniel added. "We'll still pump the ball down the field, but having that at your disposal can really help a quarterback and really help pass protection."
At the same time, the health and depth on that offensive line has improved. Chargers general manager Joe Ortiz added guard Cole Strange and center Tyler Biadasz as free agents, and tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are back from injury. In April the team added Duck Alex Harkey in the sixth round of the draft and signed Oregon left tackle Isaiah World as an undrafted free agent.
Lastly, Herbert has stability in his personal life. He's always been a grounded, smalltown guy, but he's found a stable relationship with pop singer Madison Beer. Without getting into the celebrity-gawking aspect of it, she's allowed him to make some peace with the the fame he's never been comfortable with, even doing a cameo in her latest music video.
The two have been dating since last summer, coming out as a public couple last December. In a March birthday tribute the quarterback gave Beer credit, saying she had "changed his life."
Genuine happiness just gives people a center. Parenthetically, the relationship gives Herbert mad credibility with his teammates, as if his courage in the pocket wasn't enough.
Add us as a preferred source on Google