Fired Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is set to become the Los Angeles Chargers’ next offensive coordinator unless, that is, he gets a better offer.
McDaniel was scheduled to interview for the Buffalo Bills‘ head-coaching vacancy on Friday, according to multiple reports. Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer wrote McDaniel will be the Chargers offensive coordinator next season unless he lands a head-coaching job with another NFL team.
The Daily Mail has reached out to both the Bills and McDaniel’s agent for comment.
McDaniel’s situation may not be unique. Another fired former Dolphins head coach, Brian Flores, agreed to a new deal to remain the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator, unless he gets a head-coaching offer, ESPN reported earlier this week. Flores’ unit ranked third and seventh in yardage and points allowed this season.
McDaniel, who replaced Flores with the Dolphins in 2022, has reportedly interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders. The Falcons have since hired fired Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, while the Ravens have since filled their vacancy with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. The Bills, Browns and Raiders head-coaching positions remain vacant.
Interestingly, former San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers will also reportedly interview for the Bills vacancy despite never coaching above the high-school level. In fact, Rivers briefly came out of retirement to play for the Indianapolis Colts this season. Â
Fired Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is set to become the Los Angeles Chargers’ next offensive coordinator unless, that is, he gets a better offer
If McDaniel does remain with the Chargers next season, he’ll be taking over a unit poised to rebound from an up-and-down season under head coach Jim Harbaugh and newly fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman.Â
The biggest problem was beyond their control: Starting tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater were both lost to season-ending ankle and knee surgeries, respectively.
As a result, the Chargers struggled to protect quarterback Justin Herbert and ultimately surrendered 60 sacks on the season – more than all but one team.
Injuries to rookie running back Omarion Hampton didn’t help matters and LA ended the regular season ranking 20th in scoring and 12th in yardage.
It was primarily thanks to Minter’s defense, which surrendered fewer yards than all but four teams, that the Chargers finished 11-6 to reach the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs, where they fell to the New England Patriots.
McDaniel’s creativity and condensed formations changed offenses across the NFL, with former Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott going as far as to call his offense in Miami ‘revolutionary’.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is seen alongside franchise quarterback Justin Herbert
After arriving as head coach in 2022, his Dolphins offense finished sixth in total offensive yards, the first time the franchise had been in the top 10 for almost 20 years.
They also led the NFL in total offense in 2023, while quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the No 5 pick in the 2020 draft, finished with a league-high 4,624 passing yards and the only Pro Bowl selection of his career.
In that same season, Miami became the first team in NFL history to score 70 points with at least 700 yards of offense as the Dolphins beat the Denver Broncos, 70-20.Â
However, McDaniel failed to win a playoff game in his four years with Miami and was fired following the team’s 7-10 campaign in 2025.Â
Los Angeles ChargersMiami Dolphins
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Mike McDaniel ‘could pull out of new Chargers role’ for head-coaching return days after taking OC job