Herbert earned his second Pro Bowl honor in 2025 after carrying the Chargers offense along an injury-laden campaign. He lost both his starting offensive tackles by midseason and played through a broken left hand that required surgery in late November. He didn’t miss a meaningful start despite the adversity, producing 3,727 passing yards, 28 total touchdowns and a 94.1 passer rating while earning the Bolts a postseason berth after 11 wins in the regular season.
A three-point showing in the Wild Card Round quickly ended the Chargers’ playoff run and Greg Roman’s firing as OC followed. McDaniel indicated that the best has yet to come from Herbert, who emerged in his second season with 5,014 passing yards and 38 TDs in 2021.
“I think you have a competitive player that each and every year is trying to get better in his craft,” McDaniel said of Herbert. “I think he hasn’t scratched or hasn’t neared the ceiling to what he’s capable of. He can make every throw, but as a competitor, you can tell he enjoys what the National Football League and franchise quarterback — he enjoys all the burden that is the responsibility of touching the ball every play, then to need to be your best and when your best is required. That’s something that I’m always looking for, and players in general, how they perform post halftime, and there’s a lot that we can be capable of here with him leading the charge.”
With Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt expected to be ready in 2026, the protection issues Herbert faced last season figure to be greatly improved. Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston represent a young receiving corps currently under contract, with veteran Keenan Allen set to become a free agent this offseason. Running back Omarion Hampton and tight end Oronde Gadsden II provided a promising outlook during their rookie campaigns in 2025.
McDaniel is looking forward to putting it all together.
“I think it’s a really cool opportunity because I think the best offenses cater to the players that they have, the existing skill sets and evolve to what their talents are,” he said. “I think we have a lot of young players at the skill positions, particularly, got two great tackles coming back, and I think with a skill set such as Justin’s, you can do a lot of things on the ground and in the air that can really put defenses in bind. So, I think there’s a lot of tools in place.
“I think it’s important to have a good offseason, which we plan to do. And, you know, I think what you’re working with is something that will be unique to its own. I’m excited to see where the offense goes and how it evolves through the skill sets of these players, and what I think the biggest thing is we want to create a system of offense where guys can really feature their skill sets, evolve their game, and be their best in December and January, which is the whole point when you’re playing elimination games.”
McDaniel’s rise in the NFL coaching ranks began in San Francisco as an OC and culminated in Miami, where he spent the last four seasons as Dolphins head coach. Implementing his high-flying offense, which saw the emergence of Tua Tagovailoa, McDaniel earned two playoff appearances in his first two seasons at the helm, but that momentum dissipated in 2024 and 2025 for several reasons, injuries being the most glaring culprit.