It took nearly a week after the announcement was first made that Mike McDaniel was in line to become the Los Angeles Chargers' offensive coordinator, but the former Miami Dolphins head coach was finally confirmed into his new role this past Monday.
With a more modern and explosive approach to his offensive attack—he did get his start with Mike Shanahan in Denver and spent years alongside Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, after all—McDaniel is obviously cut from a different cloth than now-former Bolts OC Greg Roman, who employed a far more traditional style. It's not that Roman's style never worked, as it clearly did at times, but changes are certainly on the way.
Now, no matter who was hired to replace Roman (or even if Roman stayed, for that matter), changes undoubtedly need to be made on the offensive line, as Los Angeles was one of the worst teams in the NFL in that regard this past year. The absence of Rashawn Slater for the whole season and the loss of Joe Alt midway through the campaign obviously didn't help matters.
Still, those who did take the field simply didn't cut it, specifically on the interior, which has to be the priority, as Slater and Alt should be ready to go by the time training camp rolls around.
Left guard Zion Johnson is set to hit free agency, so if the Bolts want him to bounce, that's an easy fix. But right guard Mekhi Becton and center Bradley Bozeman are still under contract for the 2026 season. However, with McDaniel now on board, both have to be considered prime cut candidates, as neither fits even remotely well into his offensive system.
Truth be told, though, even without McDaniel's arrival, both could have been gone no matter what.
The Chargers will create $15.575 million in salary cap space by cutting Bradley Bozeman and Mekhi Becton
Becton was actually the Bolts' most expensive acquisition last offseason, as the former first-round pick inked a two-year, $20 million deal, with $6.94 million in guaranteed money.
But things just didn't work out the way Jim Harbaugh & Co. had hoped, as Becton's 36.6 overall grade ranked 78th among 80 qualified guards after he allowed 37 QB pressures, seven hits, and three sacks.
If the Chargers do want to part ways with him, it won't be a pricey as one might think, as they'd only take a dead cap hit of $2.5 million while creating $9.7 million in salary cap space.
As for Bozeman, who clearly didn't have the full confidence of Harbaugh, who ran an experiment last offseason where he flip-flopped Bozeman and Johnson (which obviously didn't work out), the eight-year veteran's 49.8 overall PFF marked ranked dead last among 37 eligible centers.
To get out of the final year of his two-year, $6.5 million deal, Los Angeles would take only a $1.06 million dead cap hit and would create another $5.875 million in cap space.
For those doing the math at home, that's an extra $15.575 million the Chargers would have to spend this offseason.
We'll obviously have to wait and see how things play out, but both Becton and Bozeman seem good as gone at this point.