Mike McDaniel is taking his talents away from South Beach to join the LA Chargers coaching staff. The Bolts' new offensive coordinator is bringing one of his most prominent Dolphins coaches with him.
McDaniel and the Chargers hired Butch Barry to be the team's offensive line coach in 2026. Barry held the same role in Miami and is replacing Mike Devlin, who was fired alongside Greg Roman after the season.
Barry won't be the only person with Dolphins ties who follows McDaniel to the Chargers. There is bound to be more, coaches and players alike. However, just because someone has ties to McDaniel via the Dolphins does not mean they should follow him to Los Angeles, and there is one Dolphins free agent, in particular, that the team must avoid.
Chargers must avoid signing Liam Eichenberg despite his ties to Mike McDaniel and Butch Barry
Taken by the Dolphins in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Eichenberg didn't do much to elicit confidence during his tenure in Miami. Eichenberg never recorded a pass-blocking grade of 50 or above on Pro Football Focus thanks to the ample number of pressures he allowed.
Eichenberg allowed a staggering 62 pressures in his rookie season in 2021. Over his career, the guard has a pass-block efficiency rating of 96.3. For comparison, Bradley Bozeman has pass-block efficiency rating of 97.1 and 97.3 in his two seasons with the Bolts.
I know the Chargers are used to offensive linemen who can't protect the quarterback, but that doesn't mean the team should go out and get another.
This all seems to obvious, so why even worry about Eichenberg coming to LA. Well, old quotes from Barry from before the 2025 season have resurfaced and make it clear that he is a fan of the former Notre Dame guard. In May, Barry said the following when asked why the Dolphins re-signed Eichenberg:
"He's a glue in the room. Does an unbelievable job with the whole room. Doing an unbelievable job with younger players. He's a leader by nature in terms of how to do the standard of work. He can play a lot of different positions, has multiplicity, and I think that's very important."
That sounds like someone who is a fan of Eichenberg. And as great of an endorsement as that is, Chargers fans know firsthand how dangerous it is if a head coach is blindly loyal to an offensive lineman. That's how Bozeman remained the starting center in 2025.
Sure, there is some theoretical value in Eichenberg being a backup because he is familiar with McDaniel's system. But why? Why use that roster spot on someone who has clearly struggled at every turn in the NFL? A better use of that spot would be someone younger with potential, or a different dart throw that has untapped skills.
I'm all for taking fliers on free agents and there will be plenty of fliers discussed on Bolt Beat throughout the offseason. But at some point, a spade is a spade and the Chargers don't have the luxury of adding another spade into a deck that is already full of them.
The Chargers need to avoid Liam Eichenberg this offseason. Starter, backup, practice squad player... it doesn't matter.