How Mike McDaniel's New Role Impacts Jaguars, AFC South

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It appears Mike McDaniel won't be joining the AFC South, after all.

McDaniel is reportedly set to be the next Los Angeles Chargers' offensive coordinator if he doesn't get a head coach gig. One way or another, he won't be joining Robert Saleh with the Tennessee Titans, which is good news for the Jaguars.

McDaniel's Move

When the Titans hired Saleh, it surely seemed like McDaniel was set to be tabbed as the Titans' next offensive coordinator. Considering how revolutionary McDaniel's offense in Miami looked at the start of his tenure, the thought of him joining the AFC South was not exactly a positive thing for the Jaguars.

With McDaniel now officially out of the picture, the Jaguars will likely see a lower-tier play-caller join Saleh in Tennessee. McDaniel appeared to be the most sought after play-caller in this year's coaching cycle, so any other name the Titans add would seem like a bit of a step down from the McDaniel scenario.

mike mcdanie — Dec 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel walks onto the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Seemingly the most likely scenario for the Titans is now former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, but only in the event that he does not get the head coach job with the Buffalo Bills. Daboll has, well, not been quite as good of an offensive mind as McDaniel, and this seems like a scenario the Jaguars could be more than OK with.

Have been so confused by the Brian Daboll OC hype this cycle, so I double checked I wasn’t missing anything. Here are his NFL offensive rankings over the years. I don’t get it pic.twitter.com/N2vMGywKCm
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) January 16, 2026

No matter what the Titans do, of course, the primary focus willstill be on the Jaguars and what they can control. But for now, the Titans to not appear to be building a juggernaut in Nashville.

"I was extremely proud of a lot of things that we were able to accomplish, very proud of their response to adversity and to that 1-0 message and that next-play mentality and now the real work is here to where we have to go and reload it. We're not going to just stand here and say, man, we're just going to re-do it all with all the same, same, same, same because that got us 13 wins and knocked out of the playoffs in the first round," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said last week.

"Clearly it was not good enough for the full end of the season standard, but 31 other teams are having a similar conversation and they will have the similar conversation. So that's the beautiful part about this profession and the challenge that it brings. Every year is a new year. Every team is a new team. That's what this offseason will be able to provide. That's what the offseason will be for, getting to know this new team, what it looks like with the message being, hey, we got to continue to go 1-0 each week and play the next play."

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