Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins’ former head coach, can refresh an offense that looked behind the times.
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel reacts on the sidelines during the first half of a game against the New England Patriots in September in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Chargers are expected to hire McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator.
Still other locals — the salty schadenfreude crowd — say they cheer for Team Spanos to get waxed as it did two Sundays ago in New England. The offenseCoach Jim Harbaugh has hired much-sought coordinator Mike McDaniel, per ESPN.He can give Justin Herbert’s game a much-needed tune-up. Exposed too often to subpar blocking in both seasons under Harbaugh,Herbert was able to overcome unsettled moments in many games, but in New England, he turned down numerous good passing chances and ran when he didn’t need to. These were classic symptoms of a QB affected by unreliable protection, a la Philip Rivers in 2011-12. Enter McDaniel, a Kyle Shanahan protege whose offensive chess game in four seasons with Miami impressed recent Super Bowl winners. The former Yale receiver began his coaching career under Super Bowl-winning coach, quarterback and coordinator Gary Kubiak, whose oldest son, Klint, coordinates the Seahawks’ offense. Eleven years under Shanahan steeped McDaniel, 42, in the secrets of condensed formations and play-action plays. Together, the two friends worked for Shanahan’s father, Mike, who won two Super Bowls. Still together, they went to a trio of Super Bowls themselves. Matt Ryan’s MVP season with the Falcons came under their guidance. I claim McDaniel did wonders with Tua Tagovailoa. Critics will say the two never won a playoff game, McDaniel benched the QB late this season, and the Dolphins are now stuck with a bloated contract McDaniel and others shouldn’t have given him.Because of numerous injuries in college and the NFL and his vulnerability to such setbacks, Tagovailoa became a finesse player by any standard at his position. That effect: a constant headwind. The Chargers’ Herbert has rare physicality and durability, among other gifts. That should bode well for his new offensive coordinator. When McDaniel was fired this month with a 35-33 record, smart NFL folks targeted him as a coordinator. The Eagles and the Buccaneers each interviewed him, believing he could get them back to the Super Bowl, while an alum of the Chiefs’ NFL dynasty, former All-Pro right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, stumped for coach Andy Reid to hire him.Crucial to Kansas City’s run to five Super Bowls in six years, the ex-blocker said, were surges in offensive innovation under Reid, who seeks out fresh ideas.Yet it’s easy to see why McDaniel chose the Chargers, who, lucking out here, won’t have to pay him top dollar because he had three years left on his Dolphins contract. Herbert is a certain top-10 quarterback who, with better support, could place among the top handful by this time next year. The Chargers stand to regain star offensive tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. Their salary cap has ample space. Harbaugh is a true head coach whose two L.A. teams reached the playoffs. Recent defensive hires by Harbaugh include Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter, now a hot name in the head-coach carousel. So, is a Super Bowl run finally coming from a franchise that hasn’t played a home playoff game since 17 seasons ago, when some 70,000 locals saw Norv Turner’s third San Diego team flop as a nine-point favorite against Rex Ryan’s Jets?Among the San Diego Chargers’ early offensive coordinators were future Hall of Fame head coaches Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs. They worked one season and two seasons, respectively, with Dan Fouts as the main QB. None of the three teams got to the Super Bowl. Walsh and Gibbs went on to win three Super Bowls apiece elsewhere. Gibbs did it with three different quarterbacks, none of them Hall of Famers.Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla received astronauts after splashdownMagnitude 4.9 earthquake near Palm Desert briefly shakes San Diego CountyFalla una tubería importante en Tijuana y vierte 11.5 millones de galones de aguas residuales diariamente al río TijuanaHandpicked by Locals: 5 places to eat, drink and explore in Vista
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