Mike McDaniel is challenging Justin Herbert. Will Chargers playoff success follow?

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Mike McDaniel is here to challenge Justin Herbert.

The Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator has made that clear in his short time with the organization.

He has no interest in the status quo. He is searching for improvement.

“We’re not here to take all the players that have been here and all the new players that we’re adding and just stand on what they’re able to do,” McDaniel said last month. “No. We’re trying to make each player that much better.”

This approach is necessary, as Herbert is attempting to clear a career hurdle. He is entering his seventh NFL season and has yet to win a playoff game. McDaniel was hired to help Herbert find postseason success. This relationship — how it grows and what kind of improvement it cultivates — will tell the story of the 2026 Chargers season.

The early returns, according to Herbert, are very positive. Speaking Tuesday for the first time since the Chargers lost to the New England Patriots in January, Herbert called McDaniel a “great teacher” and a “very talented and smart coach.”

“He’s very clear,” Herbert said. “I really appreciate how upfront, how honest he is with everyone.”

In order to challenge Herbert, McDaniel had to put in the work. There was no shortcut to earning Herbert’s trust. McDaniel’s first task as Chargers offensive coordinator was watching every throw from Herbert’s NFL career. From there, McDaniel developed a plan to mold his offensive scheme to Herbert and the Chargers.

McDaniel brought these ideas to his quarterback in the late winter, according to Herbert. Herbert recalled one of his first meetings with McDaniel in February or March. McDaniel had put together a film cutup with a “few hundred” plays, Herbert said. The clips included Chargers plays from past seasons. They also included clips from teams McDaniel had coached previously.

“It was a well-put-together presentation that I really saw the vision,” Herbert said, “and it meant a lot to me.”

“It made me really want to get back to football.”

Herbert identified this as a moment he started to realize McDaniel’s intellect.

In the months since, through the offseason program, Herbert has taken on McDaniel’s challenges. The Chargers are in their second week of organized team activities. On Tuesday, Herbert talked frequently about the changes McDaniel has made to his footwork.

McDaniel will be asking Herbert to get rid of the ball more quickly. McDaniel believes the Chargers can create more explosive plays in the short area of the field. Getting the ball out more quickly also mitigates opposing pass rushes.

“It’s just understanding how he wants the drops timed up with the routes,” Herbert said. “He wants to ball out early. We feel like that is going to help us get the ball out quicker.”

On Tuesday, Herbert did not attempt a pass in practice. He was given the day off to work exclusively on footwork. Herbert took only four team reps and they were all run plays.

Herbert said he will be taking a day off to rest his arm and focus on footwork about once a week through the rest of the spring. The Chargers have OTAs this week and next, followed by a mandatory minicamp from June 16 to 18.

“It’s just being smart about my arm, just understanding that it’s June and there’s a lot of time left to train and to continue to work,” Herbert said.

Herbert said his arm feels “pretty good,” though he added, “I can definitely tell that I’m heading into Year 7.”

“I actually thought it was a good opportunity to work on my footwork, and that’s what Mike was saying,” Herbert said. “We’re changing up our quarterback footwork, and he thought it was something that was going to be helpful.”

Herbert believes the footwork changes within the new scheme will create more yards-after-catch opportunities for his pass catchers. He said that is one element that jumped off the screen when watching film from McDaniel’s offenses with the Miami Dolphins.

The Chargers ranked 24th in yards after the catch per reception from 2024-25 under former offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

One key, according to Herbert, will be throwing with more anticipation.

McDaniel touched on this potential improvement area last month.

“He’s got a very strong arm with a lot of ball speed,” McDaniel said of Herbert. “So, typically, guys like that have to wait to see something open and then throw it. And in those microseconds of time, defenders get closer to the eligibles that are catching it, so you have less yards after catch.”

Herbert framed it as “the emphasis of getting the ball out before the receivers are even looking for it.”

According to Herbert, McDaniel even offered the receivers a warning early in the offseason program: “If they didn’t turn their heads around fast enough, the ball was going to hit them in the face.”

Herbert admitted he relied on his arm strength in the past. Now?

“Trusting and just throwing it to a spot and letting them go get it,” he said.

In the end, the goal is creating more easy explosives for Herbert. Produce more with less effort. A byproduct of a more explosive short passing game will be less pressure. Herbert was hit more than any quarterback in the NFL last season.

“It’s his goal to be able to take away the pass rush,” Herbert said of McDaniel. “If you’re getting the ball out quickly, there’s really nothing they can do about it. As edge rushers, how good they are, you got to find a way to slow them down, and I think that’s just his way of kind of taking them out of the game as best as we can.”

Back in those early meetings in the winter, Herbert said he and McDaniel talked about more than just the vision for the new offense. Topics outside of football. And yes, the playoffs.

“Being at our best during those elimination games,” as Herbert put it.

McDaniel’s ultimate task is to coach the best version of Herbert. To earn the trust. To challenge the status quo. To build a playoff winner.

The process is very much underway.