Justin Herbert

After being fired by the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel chose the Chargers over another head coaching job. Could success with Justin Herbert make him the next Robert Saleh revival story?

McDaniel said he and Herbert are "geeked for the future," and the former Dolphins head coach noted he couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with Jim Harbaugh.

Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said QB Justin Herbert, who has yet to win a playoff game, "hasn't neared the ceiling to what he's capable of."

McDaniel was scarce on details -- not surprising -- but promised to rein in the signal-caller a bit. McDaniel added "I think not relying too heavily on Justin's ability to do above and beyond I think is critical. ... That'll be one of the first things that we'll try to do is take a little off his plate." Reading between the lines, it's possible that Herbert will be instructed to run a little less in 2026. He took off a career-high 83 times for 498 yards and two touchdowns. His overall fantasy value will probably remain as it was in 2025 -- or improve -- due to improved schematics. But we're hoping the Chargers keep the running plays on the table for fantasy purposes and this does not sound like a team that plans to do that after watching him play the final six weeks of the season with a left hand that was recovering from surgery to repair a fracture.

Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said QB Justin Herbert, who has yet to win a playoff game, "hasn't neared the ceiling to what he's capable of."