Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel had his first press conference with the team yesterday. When asked about potential offensive coaching staff changes, McDaniel said it was "too early" and that the team was still working through it.
One of the positions that was already vacant and needed to be filled was offensive line coach. The Chargers fired Mike Devlin along with OC Greg Roman at the end of the season. McDaniel and Jim Harbaugh had to find a new OL coach before they moved onto any other possible staff changes.
Mike McDaniel pulls from his Miami and San Francisco ties with new Chargers OL coach hire.
Per Cameron Wolfe, the Chargers have found their new offensive line coach. Miami offensive line coach Butch Barry will be employed in the same role with Los Angeles. Barry was with McDaniel for three seasons in Miami. Prior to his time with the Dolphins, Barry was an assistant offensive line coach with the 49ers in 2021 and 2022. His time in San Francisco of course overlapped with McDaniel who was 49ers OC in 2021 before taking the Miami HC job.
Miami's offensive line experience was arduous. But it was more of a lack of investment issue than a true coaching problem. In 2025, the Dolphins were 30th in offensive line spending leaguewide. Yet they were still outkicking their coverage in key statistical categories. McDaniel's offense was still 3rd in yards per rush, 9th in EPA/rush, and 12th in yards per game.
The Dolphins also had successful development stories on the offensive line during his tenure. Players like C Aaron Brewer and LT Patrick Paul had career years with Barry in 2025. OG Robert Hunt became one of the highest-paid IOL in the league by the Panthers in free agency after his first year in Barry's system. This past season, the Dolphins also dealt with injuries to Austin Jackson and the very sudden retirement of OT Terron Armstead.
One of the Jim Harbaugh mandates this offseason will be spending along the offensive line. The Chargers shelled out a market-setting deal for LT Rashawn Slater before his injury last year. Joe Alt and Slater will be talents the likes of which Barry has never worked with before in his career.
But on top of that, the Chargers need to get serious about the interior. And with a new OC and OL coach, they're not likely to run back another season of C Bradley Bozeman and RG Mekhi Becton.
It wasn't all sunshine and roses for Barry as a coach in Miami with where the Dolphins stacked up relative to the rest of the league in some statistical categories. But there are a fair share of positive development stories and successes that are reasons for optimism in Los Angeles. At the very least, Barry is an improvement over Mike Devlin in terms of ability to do more with less.