How Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel can unlock the Chargers’ Super Bowl potential in 2026

Mike McDaniel stood close enough to the Chargers’ formation that it made the defense wonder whether he was going to line up as a wide-receiver and run the route himself.

Then he sent them a warning shot.

“We’re about to bomb y’all right here,” McDaniel told the defense, looking specifically at All-Pro safety Derwin James.

The Chargers did not throw deep. Instead they ran a quick halfback draw.

“He’s playing mind games already,” James said, smiling.

Welcome to the first day of the Chargers’ opening practice at training camp.

Josh McDaniel, Justin Herbert getting in sync

McDaniel has arrived on the scene as the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator after four years as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He brings an energy and a sideline presence the team has been lacking amongst their coaches in the Jim Harbaugh era. He also brings a restless imagination and an innovative offense.

He comes to the Chargers not as a stepping stone to another head coaching opportunity, but perhaps with the most important assignment of his career: lifting Justin Herbert from gifted quarterback to championship quarterback.

Herbert, in turn, offers McDaniel the best quarterback he’s ever had as a coach, and the best chance to prove his offense can do more than just dazzle on occasion. It can endure. It can win in the postseason. It can guide a team all the way to a Super Bowl.

The newly-formed partnership between McDaniel and Herbert is intriguing because both men are at the point in their careers where their talent is no longer the question.

Herbert has one of the strongest arms in football. He has the size, speed, intelligence and composure coaches will spend a decade searching for. McDaniel has long been regarded as an inventive offensive mastermind. A coach capable of turning pre-snap motion into a faint sleight of hand and using open patches of grass as a trapdoor for defenders.

Now, each of them needs the other to get them to the next level of their careers.

Herbert must be quicker without rushing. McDaniel must simplify his offense without becoming too predictable. Together, they must build an offense that protects Herbert, gets the ball out faster and turns short completions into long days at the office for opposing defenses.

“That’s something Mike and I have talked about—avoiding sacks and avoiding hits,” Herbert said on Wednesday. “It’s on me to play on time, get the ball out quickly and allow the receivers to turn upfield.”

Simple enough, but as Herbert enters his seventh season in the NFL, he needs to improve when it comes to reading defenses. Especially, when they move around, disguise pressure and close off passing windows. And training camp is the perfect place to work on them.

Herbert said he spent the summer refining his footwork and adjusting his stance. He repeated the movements until they stopped feeling mechanical and became natural. His goal was to come into camp without consciously thinking about where his feet belonged, allowing his mind to shift toward defensive coverages, timing, and ball placement.

“A few months ago, I was still making sure my feet were lined up correctly with the routes and the timing,” said Herbert. “There was a lot that went into it, but now it’s just playing football.”

Justin Herbert has room to improve

McDaniel’s offense should give Herbert plenty of opportunities to do that. The Chargers have assembled depth at receiver and tight end, with different body types, route profiles, and abilities. Herbert repeatedly emphasized getting the ball quickly to players such as Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Brenen Thompson, then letting them become runners.

“We have so many talented guys. I noticed it during routes on air today,” said Herbert. “They all have different skill sets, and it’s very helpful for an offense to have that variety.”

Across the line, McDaniel’s offense is forcing the defenders to communicate and remain disciplined. Linebacker Daiyan Henley, now operating as the green-dot signal caller, said that McDaniel’s shifts and motions are keeping him on his toes.

McDaniel tests the defense’s eyes. Veteran leaders like James and Khalil Mack test the offensive line’s nerves. James tests Herbert’s ability to diagnose coverages. Herbert tests whether the defense can survive when his rocket right arm is on-target.

The result is a daily football laboratory.

The Chargers have had talent before. They’ve had optimism before. But now the question is: Can Herbert and McDaniel lead the team to a victory come playoff time?

Their careers do not need rescuing.

They need elevation.

The Chargers are hoping that between McDaniel’s mind games, and Herbert’s new footwork, the team might finally be capable of reaching their first Super Bowl in 32 years.

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com