The Los Angeles Chargers landed a big fish with their hiring of Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator.
The hope is that, in contrast to some of the failures of Greg Roman's tenure, McDaniel will be able to implement a motion-heavy and outside-zone-dependent offensive scheme that can fully weaponize what the Chargers have available on the offensive side of the ball.
McDaniel's track record as a head coach has some holes. But as a pure offensive mind, he's one of the premier strategists in the game. There's more than enough reason to be optimistic about what he can bring to Los Angeles in 2027.
The Chargers, for their part, have bought in fully to the McDaniel experience. With their signing of Cole Strange, and now their selection of Jake Slaughter in the second round, they've shown they have full trust in him to re-shape their protection and revitalize their offensive scheme.
As surprising as the Slaughter selection was at the time, it's clear that decision was made in consideration of McDaniel's preferences. If it works out, it will be a major credit to McDaniel's vision. But, for now, it represents another major gamble on McDaniel.
The Jake Slaughter-Cole Strange pairing is wholly dependent upon the success of McDaniel's scheme
From comments Joe Hortiz has made, it's clear that there was some sort of consensus across the organization on Slaughter. But Daniel Popper, in his immediate analysis of the Slaughter selection, made clear that it had quite a bit to do with McDaniel:
"This whole offseason has been a big bet on McDaniel. He was the driving force behind the Strange signing and the primary reason the Chargers were not interested in some of the other free-agent guards available. The Chargers’ belief in McDaniel has been a throughline as they have rebuilt the interior of their offensive line. Slaughter is another piece in that process."- Daniel Popper, The Athletic
There's reason to have doubts about the Slaughter selection. He was tagged with a fourth-round grade by many draft analysts, and he did not play a single snap at guard at the college level. With the alternative starter being Trevor Penning, Los Angeles needed to nail this selection.
At the same time, however, Slaughter clearly has the agility and the solid fundamental aspects to his game that McDaniel seeks out in his guards. So does Strange.
Popper's characterization of these choices as a "throughline" of the offseason, therefore, is 100% accurate. Los The Chargers also added Keaton Mitchell, Charlie Kolar, and Alec Ingold in free agency— three offensive signings that are clearly McDaniel-oriented.
But the reality is that, if McDaniel finds major success with his offensive scheme in Los Angeles, he will likely seek out another head-coaching opportunity at the earliest possible window. Even if it takes multiple seasons for him to build that resumé back up, it's the danger you face when you bring in a coordinator of his caliber.
For better or worse, though, Los Angeles has clearly committed a large chunk of its personnel to satisfying the needs of McDaniel's scheme. The Slaughter selection, whether it works out or not, is simply the latest example.
Add us as a preferred source on Google