What is Mike McDaniel’s Offensive Vision for Justin Herbert?

Mike McDaniel met reporters for the first time in Southern California on Tuesday.

The new Chargers Offensive Coordinator hit a number of topics as he spoke for 40-plus minutes at The Bolt.

Here are five takeaways from McDaniel’s press conference:

1. Ready to work with Justin Herbert

McDaniel didn’t take long to bring up Justin Herbert when describing why he wanted to land with the Chargers.

“Got a quarterback who I’ve always admired,” McDaniel said Tuesday.

McDaniel said he and the Chargers franchise quarterback spoke by phone last week to get an early jump on getting to know each other and mapping out the offseason.

And McDaniel made it clear that he senses Herbert is more than fired up to work together.

“He was in high spirits and just excited about attacking something. You lose in the playoffs, in the first round, it’s a lot of work that you feel kind of like you have an empty stomach,” McDaniel said. “That hunger, I could hear it in his voice.

“He was excited to start a new chapter and to really attack the process of the offseason to be our best versions of ourselves come next fall. It was enthusiastic,” McDaniel added. “I was in a room talking in a really loud inside voice out of passion and I think he recognized that. We were both geeked for the future and the possibilities that it brings.”

McDaniel later said something that should make opposing defenses perk up.

“I think he hasn’t neared the ceiling of what he’s capable of,” McDaniel said.

Herbert has been plenty successful through six seasons, amassing nearly 25,000 passing touchdowns, 160-plus touchdown passes, a pair of Pro Bowl nods and plenty of individual accolades.

And he’s also been among the league’s most clutch players, something McDaniel saw firsthand in Miami in Week 6 of the 2025 season when the quarterback shrugged off a sack and found Ladd McConkey to set the Bolts up for a last-second win.

“I’ve been in the National Football League for 19 years. In that process, you are fortunate to share the field with guys that can just, in an 11-on-11 game, they can really take over and really put the team on their back,” McDaniel said. “That was the latest and greatest example of that, on the short end of the stick.

“I think that’s what’s so exciting about the horizon, what we have in store for ourselves moving forward. It’s rare that you can come up with football plays that has an answer if the defense, gets paid too, and they make the perfect call,” McDaniel added.

But the focal point of McDaniel’s press conference — a talking point that he reiterated multiple times — is that he doesn’t want Herbert to have to make such heroic plays in order for the Chargers to win games.

“It’ll be one of the first things that we’ll try to do, take a little off his plate so he is free to do that when his greatness is required,” McDaniel said. “There’s probably a plethora of examples, you guys can go in your rolodex, as far as plays he’s made that you assume others can’t.

“In those situations when you’re on the sidelines and you’re playing against it, it’s a lonely feeling when there isn’t a play call defensively that can take this guy’s game away,” McDaniel added.

The Chargers saw Herbert’s prowess often in 2025, whether it was a that play in Miami or thrilling comeback home wins over the Broncos and Eagles.

Herbert ran for a career-high 498 yards in 2025 but much of it wasn’t by design. Instead, it was him playing off schedule as the pocket heated up around him.

Simply put, McDaniel said it’s on him to scheme up quick and easy completions to both get Herbert in a rhythm and alos keep him clean in the pocket.

“There’s a lot of incredible plays Justin has made, that he’s firmly capable [of making]. Sometimes as a coach you can rely upon that a little too much,” McDaniel said. “There’s schematic ways to get completions that maybe all three quarterbacks on the roster would be capable of doing.

“Easier completions, kind of not putting so much … it can be taxing over time for a player to necessitate an incredible play too often to be able to score points and win football games,” McDaniel added. “So, you try to take it off of them by low-cost, high-reward offense that he’s firmly capable of doing but also maybe a lesser talent would be capable of doing as well.”

Is there a specific example of what that looks like?

McDaniel then showcased his football IQ by launching into a long-winded answer about defenses trying to hide their pre-snap coverage, a tactic that could allow space to open up on the field as they then rotate to their post-snap picture.

Quick throws into that space, McDaniel, could also negate a ferocious pass rush.

“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.”

To sum it up: McDaniel wants to create simple and easy opportunities for Herbert that perhaps any quarterback in the league could make. And then build off that to enhance the quarterback’s immense skillset.

Of course, there’s also the issue of keeping Herbert healthy for an entire season.

Herbert was sacked 54 times in 2025, the second-highest total in the league, and also faced a league-high 263 pressures.

McDaniel said the core belief of his offense is protecting the quarterback to ensure he’s available for a full season plus the playoffs.

“You’re trying to make sure you have a coordinated execution to keep him upright and keep him from getting hit in order to have completions that are a little more low-cost where you can get the ball out quicker,” McDaniel began.

“Over the course of my time in the National Football League, all those years were within the same system, and you’re kind of evolving to your individual players, but a common denominator through all those is how to make sure your quarterback can be healthy and not be in vulnerable positions too often,” McDaniel continued.

“[Herbert] has an incredible ability to go off schedule but I think I’ll be firmly coaching away from the off schedule stuff at the front end because he can always go back to that comfort zone as you’re working on other things,” McDaniel added. “I think a primary focus on how to have offense without putting them in a vulnerable position will be a starting point and we’ll extrapolate from that.”

McDaniel said quarterback movement outside of the pocket will be key to that endeavor, but said there’s plenty of time to focus on how it will all come together.

For now, McDaniel said he’s “fired up” to be with the Bolts. And Herbert is at the top of the list of reasons why.

“I think he has different skills … he is unique to any player I’ve coached,” McDaniel said.

He later added: “I’m really excited because I think his best football is in front of him, not behind him.”