Mike McDaniel didn’t need long to find the right frame for the Chargers’ return trip to San Diego.
On Wednesday, while the team held training camp at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium, the first-year offensive coordinator reached for a line from “Anchorman” to describe the setting.
“Ron Burgundy wasn’t lying, this place is sweet,” McDaniel said, according to a post from reporter Fabian Ramirez.
The Chargers are back in their former home city each summer for a small stretch of camp practices, even though the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 2017. This year’s stop put McDaniel in familiar Southern California surroundings as he begins his first season running the offense.
That’s the bigger football story here. McDaniel has taken over play-calling from Greg Roman, who handled the Chargers offense in 2024 and 2025 before Jim Harbaugh fired him after a 16-3 wild-card loss to the New England Patriots in January. Roman has since joined the New York Giants as a senior offensive assistant, reconnecting with head coach John Harbaugh, for whom he previously coordinated the Ravens’ offense from 2019 to 2022.
McDaniel arrives in Los Angeles after four seasons as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach. Miami let him go on Jan. 8, 2026, after a run that produced a 35-33 record.
He got the Dolphins to the playoffs in 2022 and 2023, but both of those trips ended in wild-card losses. The next two seasons went the other direction, with Miami finishing 8-9 in 2024 and 7-10 in 2025 before owner Stephen Ross moved on.
Before that, McDaniel spent five seasons on Kyle Shanahan’s staff with the San Francisco 49ers, including a stint as offensive coordinator in 2021. That background is part of why the Chargers made sense: he’s back on the West Coast, and he gets a quarterback in Justin Herbert who has already shown he can light up the league.
Herbert is entering his seventh NFL season, and the production arc is hard to miss. He opened his career with three straight 4,000-yard seasons, then exploded for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2021 - the fewest yards ever needed to hit 5,000. Since then, the totals have come down: 3,134 yards in an injury-shortened 2023, 3,870 in 2024 and 3,727 in 2025.
Season Passing Yards TD INT
2021 5,014 38 15
2023 3,134 20 7
2024 3,870 23 3
2025 3,727 26 13
McDaniel’s fingerprints in Miami suggest what the Chargers want to become. He helped Tua Tagovailoa post a league-leading 4,624 passing yards in 2023 by leaning into pre-snap motion, quick-hitting throws and easy space for receivers. Those same ideas are already being installed in Los Angeles, with the goal of getting the ball out of Herbert’s hands faster and creating big plays through structure, not just sheer arm talent.
That’s the real question hanging over Chargers camp this summer. For one Wednesday in San Diego, though, McDaniel kept it simple: the place was sweet.
In Other News...
Chargers Took A Bigger Swing At Center Than Fans Realized
The Chargers search for help at center had more layers to it than the eventual move for Tyler Biadasz suggested. Los Angeles viewed the position as a real priority this offseason, and Biadasz became the answer after he was cut loose by Washington. He was brought in as a fit for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels scheme, with the expectation that he could provide a clearer upgrade over Bradley Bozeman.
Tyler Linderbaum was part of the conversation, too, which hints at how aggressive the Chargers were willing to be in reworking the middle of the offensive line. Instead of landing the younger option they had eyes on, they pivoted once Biadasz became available, and that decision now sits as one of the more interesting behind-the-scenes storylines of the offseason. Linderbaum ended up elsewhere, but the Chargers willingness to chase a bigger swing says plenty about how seriously they treated the spot. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Alt's Recovery Could Change The Chargers Line In 2026
Joe Alt's first days around training camp brought a welcome update for the Chargers, who spent much of last season navigating life without one of their most important young linemen. The right tackle missed significant time in 2025 with a high ankle sprain, and his offseason has been centered on rehab and getting back the confidence and quickness that make him such a key piece of the front line. His return matters not just for the upcoming season, but for the shape of the unit the Chargers want to build moving forward.
Alt is expected to slide back into his natural spot on the right side alongside Rashawn Slater, giving Los Angeles the kind of tackle pairing it has been trying to stabilize. If Alt can stay healthy and recapture his rhythm, the ripple effect could reach well beyond this fall and into the longer-term plan for the line in 2026, when continuity up front may be just as important as talent. [Read more 🡒]
Tre Harris Is Forcing His Way Into The Chargers WR Picture
Tre Harris arrived in camp with the kind of pedigree that usually earns a long look, and he has given the Chargers plenty of reason to keep watching. The second-round pick from last year has clearly taken a step forward during training camp under offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, showing the sort of development teams hope to see once a young receiver settles into an NFL program.
McDaniel has already pointed to Harriss improved strength and explosiveness as signs he is pushing his way into the receiver mix. With the offense being reworked and spots in the depth chart still there to claim, Harris is turning his offseason progress into a real case for a bigger role, and the next stretch of camp should tell the rest of the story. [Read more 🡒]