Mike McDaniel going from Tua Tagovailoa to Justin Herbert is getting wild reactions

The Los Angeles Chargers picked up a big win with the impending hire of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator.

And nobody is a bigger winner than Justin Herbert.

Yes, Herbert is going to need to learn yet another offensive system with yet another coordinator, true. There are challenges there. But being free of an archaic Greg Roman offense and getting some modern, inspired form of a Shanahan attack is a big deal.

And we could certainly call McDaniel a big winner, too. Getting another head-coaching gig probably would have been more preferable. But when the top options might be places like the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders, heading to the West Coast to team up with Herbert as a coordinator sounds like a pretty sweet short-term deal, too.

There’s also the whole escaping Tua Tagovailoa thing.

Justin Herbert vs. Tua Tagovailoa has long been a debate since before they were drafted. The last few years have really quieted it down, though, with Tagovailoa fizzling out and Herbert remaining steady despite some big issues around him.

It got to the point in Miami where McDaniel actually benched Tagovailoa. The Dolphins wound up firing him, but that organization will need to deal with the aftermath. Tagovailoa has a massive contract to juggle and a quarterback question beyond that. If Tagovailoa leaves town, he's going to have a limited number of suitors, most of them potenitally desperate in a Cleveland Browns sort of way.

McDaniel, meanwhile, heads for the Chargers and a stable quarterback. Ditto for the organization, which has been surprisingly effective while committing to a major roster churn. The arrival of general manager Joe Hortiz from Baltimore certainly plays a big role in that.

Rest assured some of the biggest reactions to the McDaniel-to-Chargers news centered on the final resting spot of that debate.

In the wide-sweeping reactions to the news, the Chargers aren’t just winners: So is McDaniel as he gets an upgrade at quarterback.

Chargers, Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert vs. Tua Tagovailoa reactions

This is the best hire anyone has made including head coaches. https://t.co/1KRp1tipPm
— Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) January 21, 2026

Going from Roman to McDaniel is like going from Tua to Herbert https://t.co/vydZNmfuuC
— Shaun Rainey (@ShaunRainey) January 21, 2026

Mike McDaniel going from drawing up plays for Tua, to drawing up plays for Justin Herbert, is like playing with a paper airplane and then suddenly being handed a fighter jet.

The playbook doesn’t just open up, it becomes a weapon.

Chargers — get it done. pic.twitter.com/iHZDVFwank
— Ryan DePaul (@RyanDePaul) January 20, 2026

If Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert ball out together the remaining Tua truthers will have the biggest crash out to ever take place
— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) January 21, 2026

For the first time in my life I finally get to watch Herbert in a true west coast Shanahan style offense. Used to pray for times like this.
— THE BOLTS ARE BACK AGAIN⚡️ (@KrispyBoltz) January 21, 2026

There's probably gonna be a decent "feeling out" period for Herbert/McDaniel since Herbert is so stylistically different from Tua/other Shanahan QBs, and McDaniel's passing game is so different than Lombardi/Roman.

But the ceiling here is very, very high.
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) January 21, 2026

Mike McDaniel choosing to go to the Chargers is clear indication on how he feels about Justin Herbert.

He said, “I want to coach that guy”

Say what you want about the bad playoff moments (I know it’s bad) but coaches in the league hold Justin Herbert in the highest regard.
— Joel Moran (@joelvmoran) January 21, 2026

Mike McDaniel going to the Chargers is the final step of the Tua-Herbert wars. The circle is now closed.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) January 21, 2026

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