Mike McDaniel's Chargers Job, Contract Situation Gets an Update

It’s been a busy news week as the Los Angeles Chargers wait to lock up Mike McDaniel as their next offensive coordinator.

One small hiccup: McDaniel apparently hasn’t signed a contract with the Chargers just yet.

News broke to start the weekend that McDaniel actually cancelled his planned interview with the Buffalo Bills about their head-coach opening.

But according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, while McDaniel is still expected to sign on as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator, he’s yet to actually sign a contract.

We could be looking at mild formality territory here.

Still, all reporting around the McDaniel situation has signaled that he’ll be the Chargers’ guy, provided he doesn’t get a head-coaching job elsewhere. He’s still in the running for the job with the Las Vegas Raiders, it seems, and there are still a handful of other openings.

Mike McDaniel is still expected to become the Chargers’ offensive coordinator, though no contract has been signed yet, per sources.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 24, 2026

Adding to the mystifying nature of the whole thing is the fact the Chargers never confirmed a meeting with McDaniel on social media despite all the reporting around it. They've since done that for in-house candidates and outside candidates for the defensive coordinator job.

McDaniel cancelled a meeting with the Cleveland Browns about their head-coaching job after sitting down with Jim Harbaugh and Chargers brass. Then, he apparently backed out of the meeting with the Bills in Florida despite a chance to get the top job there and coach a guy like Josh Allen.

As has been the case for most of this saga, it appears that McDaniel to the Chargers is a formality. It's likely a short-term thing for him before reassessing the job market after the 2026 season.

If and when the Chargers link up to do the contract with McDaniel, it will put him in charge of an offense led by franchise quarterback Justin Herbert, giving him a chance to innovate on his approach with an elite passer before hitting the market again.

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