Analyst fascinated by 1 Chargers addition this offseason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2026 season looms as a big one for the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert.
After back-to-back 11-win seasons, the Chargers were dumped out of the postseason after one game, and this offseason, the changes have come thick and fast.
The offensive line was upgraded, and the pass rush was addressed in the draft, but perhaps the Chargers’ biggest offseason addition isn’t a player at all — it’s a coach.
For NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice, he’s fascinated by what Mike McDaniel can do with the Chargers’ offense.
“The Chargers made some targeted additions at key spots in free agency (C Tyler Biadasz, blocking TE Charlie Kolar) and the draft (OLB Akheem Mesidor, OG Jake Slaughter), but their most compelling offseason pickup was Mike McDaniel,” Filice wrote. “Who else is utterly fascinated to see what kind of run game the new offensive coordinator cooks up with Jim Harbaugh?”
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Can Chargers bring it all together?
Of course they can, the big question is when all the chips are pushed into the middle of the table, what Herbert will we get?
Also, the Chargers are now in a position where not many care what they do in the regular season; what matters is what happens in the postseason, where Herbert is 0-3.
But with McDaniel now as the offensive coordinator, what he can do for Herbert from a schematic standpoint is fascinating, and we’ve already heard Jim Harbaugh talk about McDaniel’s scheme and how that will limit the number of sacks Herbert takes.
Right now, it is all talk, but there is a real thought that L.A. could amount to something in 2026, and the biggest reason for that level of positivity is McDaniel.