WEBVTT - Chargers OC Mike McDaniel 1/27/26 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.400 We do have the brand new offensive coordinator for your 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:06.760 Los Angeles Chargers to be at the bolt with the 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:11.360 voice of the Bolts and the new Bolts OC Mike McDaniel, 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:16.439 fresh from Miami and looking quite clean, joining us on 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:21.040 your Southern California Toyota Dealers celebrity hotline after his big 0:00:21.160 --> 0:00:24.439 press conference and a little bit of a media whirlwind 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.920 and then headed back on vacation. Right when this is over, coach, 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.440 welcome and thank you so much for doing it. 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:34.040 Yeah, I'm very intimidated. You guys's voices are phenomenal. And 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:36.400 Joe Shan doesn't talk like this. No, he does not 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:40.280 nice reference, He's good. 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.080 How has your day been, what's it been like? Give 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:46.080 us a little idea of what the process has been like, 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.760 kind of resetting and looking at your options and ending 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:50.200 up here. 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.400 Well, I think you know part of the whole process. 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:56.720 It's a whirlwind for sure, and you don't anticipate having 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.319 all these options, and then you have some options you're 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:04.840 afforded to bye bye uh just whether it's good merit 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:08.680 or whatever. But ye, it forces you to find some 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:13.479 conviction and you don't really know your your compass as 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:16.640 to uh you know, if you are in a position 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:18.560 where you can you have a couple of teams to 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:22.440 that that are that are interested in you, that it 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.760 really sets your focus on what's important to you. And 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:28.880 you know, I think I found really everything that's vastly 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:29.479 important to. 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:31.640 Me here with the Chargers. 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:36.160 I think it's something that uh, you know, I feel 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.400 very fortunate to be a part of, but very hungry 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:43.880 to deliver on, you know, the results that are still 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.679 out there on the table. You know, I think there's 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:50.520 a lot of players here that that have the ability 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:54.400 to be great. In My job here is to is 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.440 to make those players, uh take them from good to 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:02.120 great and from great historic and all the things in between. 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.520 So I'm fired up, but I'm very convicted and in 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.840 being here and being a part of this team and 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:10.959 what we have in store for us moving forward. 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:13.079 As someone who's kind of been in football as long 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:14.880 as you have, kind of take us through sort of 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.360 your perceptions of Coach Harbaugh getting in a room with 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.280 him as you decided to be part of this and 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:21.840 and what it is that that maybe the two of 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:23.480 you have going that that made this feel like the 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:23.959 right fit. 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:28.000 Well, I think first and foremost he understood that. You 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:32.639 know this, this is really put The most important thing 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:37.200 was that we we had some sort of marriage that 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:39.840 was consensual, that he didn't try to sell He didn't 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:43.120 try to sell me on something he wasn't. He was 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:47.440 his authentic self and that really speaks to me. You know, 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.079 I think some of the core values of football from 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:53.920 a starting point we share, particularly from line of scrimmage 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.880 play and how to win football games and take control 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:01.280 down the stretch of the season. You know, I admired 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:04.399 the things that he's done throughout his career. The first 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:06.560 time I played against him, one of the best teams 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:10.120 I've ever played against. I was in Washington at the 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:14.320 time in twenty eleven, played against his Niners team that 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:19.640 destroyed us and we had no chance. And then watching him, 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:23.920 you know, I actually one of one of the first 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.680 examples of a coach being being able to make a 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:34.680 supreme difference in a program. He gave to me, you know, 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:38.800 at the University of San Diego. You know, I played 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:41.920 at Yale and we we drubbed the University of San 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.000 Diego the year before he got there. And then this 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:49.320 first year with Josh Johnson. Uh, you know, I'm gonna 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.400 get the numbers wrong, but it was like something like 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.600 forty five to zero in favor of Yale. And he 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:59.840 gets there the next year and drubbed us like fifty 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.400 five to eight, and I was like, wow, you know, 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:07.000 that's what I want in my career, is to be 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:10.320 able to be a coach on the sidelines and possibly 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:13.000 impact a program to the degree. 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:13.760 That they are. 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:18.200 You know, without him, they were getting drubbed by Yell 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:21.000 and they were doing the drubbing on Yale. So I 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:24.200 always kept him in my scope. And then, you know, 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:28.120 getting feet on the ground here his appreciation that was true. 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:33.400 You know, he'd been he'd been very genuine, you know 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.160 in conversations with me, you know, along my process as 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:41.560 a head coach, whether it's owners meetings or you know, 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:45.560 on on the visit in particular. But you know, I 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:49.400 could just tell that, you know, he's a he's a 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:53.080 guy that there's there are few and far between of 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:56.200 you know, I'm a I try to model myself as 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.599 an authentic version of who I am, and I don't 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:05.360 you know, I'm pretty rigid in that. And Jim Harbaugh 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:09.840 to me, ironically, from my perspective, I see him as 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.599 a visionary of who I try to be, which is 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:17.760 a man unique to his own that cares about developing 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:22.320 players and cares about winning and spends his time thinking 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.760 about how he can connect people to have the best 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:29.080 example of football on the field. So I thought it 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:34.840 was a very natural fit from the onset, and the 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.000 more that I've talked to him has just given me 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:40.479 the same reasons of conviction why I'm so happy to 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:41.080 be here today. 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.159 Petros and Money Show. Mike McDaniel is our guest on 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:48.080 a five seventy LA Sports, your home of Chargers Information 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:51.360 and the Dodgers. When they talk about I mean, you're 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:55.520 a well respected offensive man in the highest level of football, 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.279 and you have earned that over and over again in 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.040 your career. When people say, hey, this is a modern 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.680 offensive coordinator, you know, what does that mean to you? 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:06.840 Because you've always been pretty balanced guy. People think that 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.400 modern offense means throwing the ball every down. I guess 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:09.680 in some. 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:12.919 Way, well, you know, I think it's it's trying to, 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:19.440 you know, continually reinvent what the football that the subtle 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:23.200 details are to how you're doing offense that gives whatever 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:28.800 manifestation of defense that's out there. Gives them problems while 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:32.640 staying true to the fundamentals and techniques. You know that 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:36.920 that's that's the calling card of you know, really what 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:41.320 what I see offenses is there's an illusion of complexity 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:45.200 to a degree, and how to patternize all the different 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:48.799 things that you can, uh try to get your group 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:54.320 of players to operate with supreme conviction since they know 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:57.960 the the play and the defense doesn't, and trying to 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:02.960 get guys to work in unison to attack how defenses 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:08.880 are problem solving defense at this this particular time in football. 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:13.360 So you know, I think I've always been was so 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:17.000 fortunate to be placed in the National Football League with 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:19.960 who I was placed with, getting a job early with 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:24.520 the Shanahans. We we led the league in motions for 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.040 probably the better half of a decade and a half, 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:31.680 you know, all the way back to Houston, and reduce 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:37.480 splits and you know, just really doing things that you 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:42.320 invent off of necessity or ways to keep a competitive advantage, 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:48.040 not you know, for invention's sake. So attacking the ways 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:51.520 defenses are, you know, it's changed in the last handful 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.200 of years, and to stay ahead of it, you have 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:57.040 to continue to change as well. That's something I've never 0:07:57.080 --> 0:08:01.160 hesitated to do. But the it's the ebbs and flows 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.800 of the National Football League, and every year the game 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.800 changes to a degree. A little bit two years ago 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:14.240 we were talking about how the scoring was up across 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.360 the league and defensive coaches didn't know what they're doing, 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.040 and now they know what they're doing again. 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:21.240 You know, it's kind of I think. 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:25.400 To be modern, I would say you have to be 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:30.920 willing to evolve within season and between seasons, which is 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:32.960 something that we will very much do with. 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.160 All you mentioned Houston and so think about you with 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:37.800 Kyle and Matt Schaub and then Washington. You think about 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:40.840 RG three and that historic twenty twelve season. So all 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:43.720 the different places you've been, all the different quarterbacks you've 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:45.640 been with, how much changes and like what you do 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:47.760 based on that position, the guy that touches it all 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:48.320 every snap. 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:53.880 It is the number one motivator to you know, to schematic, 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:59.000 really focus and where you know you're you're trying to 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.880 figure out which, you know, what things to feature within 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:03.839 that person's game. 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:06.839 It's one of the reasons it's so excited to. 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:11.240 Be here is I don't see a limit to the 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:13.920 things that you know, our quarterback is able to do 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:15.960 and so you you. 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:19.280 You'd you'd really just try to create. 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.920 Something where you can utilize all those skill sets without 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:28.840 you know, necessitating him to be at his most elite 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.320 level of play at all times for us to do well. 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:31.880 You know. 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:37.400 To me, I think I feel so fortunate that we 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.400 were kind of bouncing around the National Football League. This 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:44.720 will be my eighth different team. Within all those stops, 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.920 You've had different problems to solve from the uh, from 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:51.440 the quarterback position, and I think that makes me a 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.959 much better coach as I sit here today than if 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.520 I were, you know, just in one system, say with 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.520 like Tom Brady, and just had Tom Brady doing it 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:00.000 the whole time. 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:00.720 You know. 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.560 So I think, uh that the you bring up the 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:08.760 Washington days and that was such an impactful. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:11.199 Point in all of our careers. 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:15.760 You know, I was the receiver coach, Sean McVeigh was 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:17.439 the tight ends coach, Kyle was. 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:21.880 The O C, and Matt with Floor was the quarterback 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:23.400 coach like Miami of Ohio. 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:30.160 And within that we we jumped into a zone read 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.959 which none of us on staff had ever had experience with. 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:37.000 And typically people kind of like get cliniced. 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:37.520 We didn't. 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:41.960 We had to problem solve from uh you know, uh 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:47.440 led led by Kyle and uh his uh brashness and 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.880 and foresight, and we lived in the pistol, which people 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:54.199 hadn't done. And uh, you know, I think that was 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.679 a very formative time for all of our careers where 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:01.160 you stopped looking at the execute of you know, I 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:06.400 don't look at taking a system and putting players in 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:10.120 the same situations that other players were in. 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:15.280 I look at more of how to take advantage. 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.000 Of certain types of skill sets, and then the collective 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:23.040 kind of brings you into a new trajectory of what, 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:24.560 you know, what your offense looks like. 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:29.960 So to me it it, I'm very I would have 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:30.680 it no other way. 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.600 During it, you don't like to move all the time, 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.720 and you're you know, you don't feel like you have 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:41.360 a solid ground within the National Football League as a coach. 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:44.560 It makes it difficult, but it's also forces you to 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:48.400 be your best self and continue to evolve, which I 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:51.160 plan on taking advantage of this year in twenty twenty six. 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.960 Well, this is fascinating, and you've been so generous with 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:58.840 your answers. Usually people are a little bit less detailed 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:00.000 when it comes to football. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:01.800 Oh, I will talk my face out. 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:03.640 No, it's a while. We love it. I love it. 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:06.520 But usually you know, this is complex for us because 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.040 when a guy usually comes to La a coach or 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.000 or you know, it's more fun with the young players. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:15.120 We warned them, you know, about going Hollywood. But you're 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.520 a man of great contradiction, you know. I mean, yes, 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.440 I mean you're dressed like you're going to the club, 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:21.160 but you get up at four in the morning, yep, 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:25.080 and you have all of these I mean, how do 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.080 you see yourself in the city of Los Angeles. I 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:29.920 mean there's gonna be a lot of shopping. 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.360 I mean, yeah, I better be good. 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.160 Yeah, you're gonna be here. 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.199 I better be good. I better be good to afford it. No, 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:38.880 I think. 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.800 I like what the world has to offer. There's so 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:45.680 many different you know. I had never been on a 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:49.440 plane until I was thirteen years old. I was born 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.760 and raised in a landlocked, landlocked state of Colorado, And 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:59.199 you know, I think there's different things to take from 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:03.640 all sorts of people in different environments. You know, I've 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.920 vacationed and spent probably the most time in the country 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:10.920 since outside of the places that I've worked has been 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:14.960 in southern California. So you know, every summer I was 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:18.559 down in the Laguna Beach for probably got married in 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:23.480 Laguna Beach, and and better half, well probably the last 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:28.320 decade I've spent almost every summer, so I'm very familiar 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.720 with the area, a place I've always dreamed of coaching. 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.360 I think, Uh, you're very fortunate if you're able, uh 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:40.040 to call this place home and coach professional athletics. So 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:43.160 I plan on taking full advantage of of what this 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.959 city has to offer and create the the best, newest 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.480 improved Mike McDaniel that the world has seen. What does 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:52.520 that look like? I don't even know, So how would you? 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:54.320 I don't, I don't, I don't know. 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:59.559 We'll see. I'm looking forward to who knows the artistic 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:04.360 community of Laguna Beach through the art of football from there. Well, 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:05.880 we appreciate it, coach. Good luck. 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:07.760 Your grandma's very sweet, by the way. 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.520 Yeah, thank you, coach. We appreciate it. Good Luck. 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:12.120 That's great. 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:12.520 Thank you.