Chargers' Mike McDaniel interview schedule revealed...Raiders could play spoiler

The Los Angeles Chargers will get their chance to pair Justin Herbert with Mike McDaniel in the offensive coordinator role.

Provided the Las Vegas Raiders don’t prevent it.

Not long after a report confirmed the Chargers scored an interview with McDaniel (or vice versa), NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero revealed that McDaniel will interview with the Raiders on Monday for their head-coaching position, then go to Los Angeles for a meeting with the Chargers.

Those Raiders hold a big advantage over the Chargers in this race, given the job openings up for grabs.

It doesn’t hurt, either, that the Raiders hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft and Pelissero notes that the meeting will take place before Monday night’s national championship game, with all eyes on Indiana Fernando Mendoza.

Of course, there’s far more competition for the Raiders’ head-coaching job. One has to think that the Chargers have McDaniel as the No. 1 guy for their coordinator role.

Raiders officials will be in Miami on Monday night to watch Fernando Mendoza in the national championship game. Hours before, they’ll meet with Mike McDaniel, who then jets to L.A. to meet with the division rival Chargers on Tuesday about their offensive coordinator job. https://t.co/7M5PrBYkBj
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 17, 2026

The Raiders will have to decide McDaniel is the right man for the job so soon after losing his position with the Miami Dolphins. Las Vegas has also interviewed names like Matt Nagy, Klint Kubiak, Kevin Stefanski and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

As for the Chargers, McDaniel is both a fan favorite and an obvious choice to pair with Herbert, even if he’s just a one-year rental before going on to bigger things in a potentially better head-coaching job than the one in Las Vegas.

The Chargers desperately need to go with a more modern approach to the offense around their top-10 passer. Tua Tagovailoa eventually flamed out in Miami, but it’s hard to put all of the blame on McDaniel, given the droves of problems and factors that led to things falling apart.

If McDaniel were to go the coordinator route in Los Angeles, he’d get Herbert, first-round back Omarion Hampton, first-round wideout Quentin Johnston, second-round wideout Ladd McConkey, a budding breakout sophomore tight end Oronde Gadsden and Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, the best offensive tackle due in the NFL…on a team with more than $100 million in cap space.

Clearly, the pitch to McDaniel won’t be a difficult one, and could’ve really just stopped after a single word: Herbert.

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