Many would argue that the Los Angeles Chargers should be in search of a new offensive coordinator given the way that Greg Roman has called plays over the past couple of years. If the Chargers fall short of earning a playoff victory again, that could quickly become the reality.
However, up to this point, there has not been a name on the market that would warrant an outright firing of Roman. That changed when the Miami Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel this morning.
McDaniel just finished his fourth season as head coach of the Dolphins after spending a singular season as the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. While he will likely seek out other head coaching opportunities, many teams would probably like to see an offensive mind as brilliant as his on their staff.
If McDaniel ultimately makes the transition back to offensive coordinator, the Chargers must do everything they can to pursue him.
Mike McDaniel could be the dream coaching target for the Chargers this offseason
In a lot of ways, Miami's firing of McDaniel is understandable. He was 35-33 in his four seasons there and did not record a singular playoff win. His final season was marred by inconsistent play, and starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched for the final three games of the campaign.
McDaniel will quickly become one of the more polarizing coaching candidates in this cycle.
He has not really proven his mettle as a head coach given the middling success the Dolphins found during his tenure, but he is also no longer one of the exciting, "whiz-kid" coaching prospects that teams get excited over.
Los Angeles may be able to take advantage of that fact.
In their past two years under Roman, the Chargers offense has placed 12th and 20th in total yards, respectively, despite having an MVP-caliber quarterback in Justin Herbert on their roster. Although there have been injury issues, Roman has consistently failed to implement an offense that gives Herbert access to the sheer number of options his talent would grant him.
While no one can truly blame the Dolphins for choosing to go in a different direction, it's clear that the problem in Miami was not McDaniel's offensive play-calling.
The complication is that there is no true reason to fire Roman yet. If Los Angeles is able to make a deep playoff run this season, Roman will likely hang onto his job, making the McDaniel question irrelevant.
If they fall short again, however, there could be some urgency on the organization's part to maximize Herbert's talent. McDaniel could be the perfect option to accomplish this goal.