Justin Herbert QB Plan Detailed By New Chargers OC Mike McDaniel Amid NFL Offseason

Mike McDaniel says his goal during his first season as the Los Angeles Chargers' offensive coordinator is to ensure Justin Herbert is "playing the best football of his career."

That will involve working on Herbert's footwork and throwing speed ahead of the 2026 season, McDaniel said in Friday press conference.

"He has the capability of mastering every tool in the toolbox, every drop, every progression, every type of play that we'll want to do. It's chasing the mastery of that," McDaniel said about Herbert around the 8:45 mark of the press conference.

McDaniel continued, "I would say that we're looking to master, and be elite at everything that we do, and being able to own the position in a new way, for him to him to own the position in a way he never has."

McDaniel, who was fired by the Miami Dolphins in January shortly before his hiring by the Chargers, said he started out his tenure in Los Angeles by watching every passing play from Herbert's six seasons in the NFL.

One of his goals is now for Herbert, who took an average of 2.93 seconds to throw the ball last season, to get his time to throw down to 2.4 seconds.

Herbert completed about 80 percent of his passes when throwing in 2.4 seconds or less, and he was more likely to get strip-sacked around the three-second mark, McDaniel told reporters Friday.

"He's got a very strong arm with a lot of ball speed, so typically guys like that have to wait to see something open, and then throw it, and in those microseconds of time, defenders get closer... so focusing on utilizing that strong arm, and tie in some quick footwork stuff," McDaniel said.

The Chargers will hope that helps Herbert limit turnovers after posting a career-high 2.5 percent interception rate in 2025.

McDaniel also said he felt there was "untapped potential" among the offensive weapons around Herbert, including wide receivers Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Tre' Harris.

"I think it's a reasonable expectation to succeed whatever their career highs are all across the board in that room," McDaniel said.

McDaniel will continue getting a look at his new offense later this month when OTAs start May 26, followed on June 16 by mandatory minicamp.