EL SEGUNDO, Calif. \u2014 Welcome to West Coast Read, a weekly spin around what\u2019s happening in the NFL on the Left Coast. And to kick things off, we start with a conversation I had with new Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and his plans for Justin Herbert. McDaniel displayed flashes of excellence as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, but things ultimately fizzled in four seasons on South Beach. However, McDaniel was highly sought after this offseason by several teams, both as a head coach and offensive coordinator, because of his reputation for innovation as a playcaller. With plenty of options on the table, McDaniel chose the Chargers because of the vast array of skills Justin Herbert has at his disposal, providing a stark contrast to the limited skill set his previous quarterback in Miami had in Tua Tagovailoa, taken one spot above Herbert at No. 5 overall in the 2020 draft. McDaniel told me his 20 years of coaching in the NFL prepared him for this crossroads moment of his career in coaching the most talented quarterback he\u2019s ever worked with in the league. “It\u2019s as simple as I\u2019m not sure there are many players in my entire career that are more talented to play the quarterback position than Justin,” McDaniel told me in a conversation after practice during training camp. “And so, with those talents, I learned and built offensive systems around players who are not as talented, so it forces you to try and get really high-level play from guys that don\u2019t have those supreme skill sets. “Your offense and problem-solving are at its best, where maybe you don\u2019t have to solve those problems from a coaching perspective [with Herbert]. There\u2019s a certain coverage or a certain defensive issue that\u2019s presented, and your quarterback can scramble and go get the first down. And you don\u2019t have to solve the problem as a coach. That\u2019s the greatest blessing of bouncing around NFL teams as you evolve as a coach, because you get exposed to so many types of talents. So, you\u2019re not pigeonholed.” McDaniel provided this example: if he had landed in New England early in his coaching career working with someone like Tom Brady back in 2007, he would have benefited from one of the best quarterbacks ever at solving pre-snap issues, changing plays and protections that put his offense in the best situations. And maybe that would have stunted his growth as a play designer. “And then, when you don\u2019t have him, what type of coach can you be?” McDaniel told me. “I think as a young coach, I would have really screwed it up. I would have asked for Justin as young as possible, but I\u2019m very much glad I\u2019m finally getting the opportunity to coach him now, after solving problems with guys that can\u2019t throw it as far or overcome a poorly designed play where things are gloved and just scramble for the first down.” McDaniel said he maintained discipline installing the offense, making sure to focus on Herbert\u2019s footwork and improving his ability to get the ball out quick on short completions before getting to the good stuff \u2014 how to take advantage of the Oregon product\u2019s otherworldly arm strength. That occurred midway through training camp, and the results of that were evident when Herbert connected a long touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams. McDaniel will fix L.A.\u2019s offense, so Herbert plays at an MVP level by making sure he doesn\u2019t get bored with short completions that help move the chains and providing a more consistent running attack led by a healthy Omarion Hampton. But McDaniel needs to accomplish two things to be deemed a successful season for himself and Herbert: No. 1, his quarterback can\u2019t continuously get belted like a pi\u00f1ata, leading the league in sacks and quarterback hits. And second, Herbert\u2019s postseason stat line must improve from a career 54.7 completion percentage, with two touchdowns and five interceptions for a 64.7 passer rating. Herbert is 0-3 in the playoffs and under his direction in the postseason, L.A.\u2019s offenses have averaged 15 points per game. McDaniel believes good things are in store for Herbert and the Bolts, but that must translate into some postseason wins. “It\u2019s been an interesting, very cool process \u2014 bucketing all the stuff we\u2019re getting him to work on and then taking some of the stuff that he\u2019s done at a very high level and making sure that isn\u2019t lost in this offense,” McDaniel told me. “That\u2019s why I was front-loaded in watching all the film from his career so that I could build an install that both incorporated the stuff I wanted to work on but allowed for the field to distribute so that later in plays he can make off-schedule stuff happen like he always has. “There\u2019s different parts of the field that he can access that most throwers can\u2019t. So, there\u2019s been some work on just making sure that skill set is utilized. Which, from an offensive perspective, is even a more powerful way to make the defense defend the entire field. Balancing that stuff out \u2014 we didn\u2019t work on anything that was big arm down the field until probably the last week \u2014 so, really focused on small ball, getting the ball out on plant throws and quick-timing plays. I knew that was the biggest jump he needed to make. I was very proud of myself because I put off all the fun, down-the-field stuff until just recently.” Speaking of the Chargers, they have a chance to pair up with their crosstown rival Rams and achieve something unprecedented in the NFL. Former Raiders CEO and Los Angeles native Amy Trask served as an intern when the Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl after the team\u2019s 1983 season after relocating from Oakland. So, Trask understands what an all-Los Angeles Super Bowl would mean for the city. “I\u2019ve heard a number of discussions about this,” Trask told me. “Some have suggested that would be disappointing for tourism and for the hotels industry because arguably you\u2019d have far less people traveling to the game if neither of the teams were located outside of Los Angeles. “But I have a different view. While I understand the point that is made, I think it could be a tremendous opportunity for the region to showcase itself. The Los Angeles area and the region itself did a spectacular job during the World Cup. We of course have the Olympics coming in a couple years. But with the Super Bowl coming in February, if it is the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams, think about what the region can do to showcase itself.” The Rams are a heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl after executing blockbuster trades for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, along with the return of All-Pro Aaron Donald from a two-year retirement. After back-to-back 11-6 seasons under Harbaugh and quick exits from the postseason, the Chargers have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl at +1700. This year\u2019s Super Bowl is set to take place at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 14. The last time the Super Bowl was played in Los Angeles was in 2022, when the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on their home field. The first Super Bowl in L.A. took place at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1967, with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. In all, nine Super Bowls have been played in Los Angeles. Only Miami (11) and New Orleans (11) have hosted more. The Chargers won their only championship in 1963, a 55-10 victory over the Boston Patriots for the American Football League title at Balboa Stadium in San Diego. Along with winning it all four years ago, the Rams also lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Coliseum in 1980 in Super Bowl XIV. Rams CEO Kevin Demoff recently recognized it\u2019s been 10 years since the Rams moved back to Los Angeles. It\u2019s been nine years since the Chargers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. During that time, the two teams have combined for 11 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl victory for the Rams after the 2021 season in the stadium that Rams owner Stan Kroenke built. Yes, the same Kroenke who just bought the Los Angeles Angels. A Rams-Chargers Super Bowl could be kismet. “Having grown up in Los Angeles and living in Los Angeles, you\u2019ve got everything here,” Trask said. “It\u2019s a very reasonable drive from the mountains, which will have snow on them, the desert, which will be very beautiful, and the beaches, which are always beautiful. Exploit the region. Show off the region. That\u2019s what I think can be done if it ended up Chargers-Rams.” Jeremiyah Love, whom the Arizona Cardinals took with the third overall pick in this year’s draft, flashed electric playmaking ability in his first and only action during the preseason, totaling 58 yards on 11 carries in a Week 1 contest against the Raiders. But Love suffered a high-ankle sprain and hasn\u2019t practiced since, making his availability in his team\u2019s season opener on the road against the Chargers a question mark. While most NFL observers consider Love the most talented running back in this year\u2019s draft class, a longtime NFL talent evaluator believes Love\u2019s backup at Norte Dame, Jadarian Price, might be the better player. Scott McCloughan served as San Francisco\u2019s top personnel man for four seasons and Seahawks general manager John Schneider\u2019s right-hand man as senior personnel executive from 2010 to 2013. McCloughan also worked in personnel for the Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders and currently serves as a draft consultant for teams and agents that hire him to evaluate NFL prospects. “I think he\u2019s Nick Chubb,” McCloughan told me about Price. McCloughan was in Cleveland when they drafted Chubb. “He\u2019s a big guy who can run downhill. He\u2019s got some speed. He\u2019s got some elusiveness and ball skills. I told Johnny [Schneider] when they drafted him, \u2018You just got a hell of a player dude.\u2019” At 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, Price ran a 4.49-second, 40-yard time at the NFL Scouting Combine. And while he doesn\u2019t possess the elusiveness or pass-catching ability of Love, he has a clearer path to a workhorse role for the Seahawks, with Kenneth Walker signing with the Chiefs in free agency and Zach Charbonnet working his way back from season-ending knee surgery, Along with Love\u2019s injury concerns, he\u2019s also in a stacked running back room that includes experienced veterans Tyler Allgeier and James Conner. Love is actually listed as the No. 2 running back on Arizona’s depth chart. But McCloughan believes Price will be a more productive back than Love in their NFL careers. “You know what, it was very close,” McCloughan told me. “I mean, it wasn\u2019t a slam dunk. And don\u2019t get me wrong, Love\u2019s really good. And of course, Love was the starter. But Jadarian, I think he\u2019s going to be a really good NFL running back. I know Nick just recently retired, but when he was in his prime, he was kicking ass. “He\u2019s got a lot of power, but he also has speed.” Rams head coach Sean McVay predominantly used three-receiver sets during his time with the Rams, usually leading the league in that personnel grouping. However, due to injuries and effectiveness, McVay\u2019s Rams led the league by using three tight end personnel groupings on 331 snaps in 2025, averaging 6.2 yards per play. It\u2019s by far the most a team has used that formation over the past decade in a single season. The second-most was 183 by the Cleveland Browns in 2021. League-wide, teams used three tight ends 5% of the time in 2025, up from 3.5% in 2024. Moreover, 21 tight ends were selected in this year\u2019s draft, the most since 2002 (24). The Rams drafted another tight end this year in Max Klare and are carrying five on the active roster, so McVay could be planning to lean on three TE sets again. However, new Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury, who served as the San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach before taking his new job, does not expect the Rams to use three tight end sets as often this season. “Last year, I think they caught a lot of people off guard by doing that, especially in those first few weeks,” Fleury said. “When you get into bigger groupings, usually it simplifies the defensive menu. But as they continue to put it on the field, the defensive menu continues to grow as people become more prepared. “Going into this season, while that might seem like an advantageous trend for an offense to do, the entire league has had the entire offseason to come up with their plan for defending their team personnel. So, I don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to see quite the same advantages. We will have some of it available and deploy it when we feel appropriate. But I don\u2019t know that you are going to get quite the level of production that the Rams had out of it league-wide.” A weekly look at the top five teams among the NFC and AFC West: 5. Kansas City Chiefs I\u2019m tempted to put the Chargers here, but even though he\u2019s recovering from a knee injury, I trust Patrick Mahomes more than Herbert. 4. San Francisco 49ers They\u2019re a M*A*S*H unit on both sides of the ball, but Shanahan will figure out how to cobble together enough healthy bodies to play winning football. 3. Denver Broncos They have one of the best defenses in the league and one of the most underrated QBs in Bo Nix. 2. Los Angeles Rams In Sean McVay we trust, unless it\u2019s booking travel arrangements. 1. Seattle Seahawks To be the best, you must beat the best. Showing the defending champs some respect here, unlike the rest of the country. “There\u2019s only three players that I would stand up and watch play: LT (Lawrence Taylor), Reggie White and Aaron Donald. Those are three guys where I would watch every play because I\u2019ve never seen nothing like it. And I think Myles [Garrett] could be that same type of player here, for sure.” Eric Dickerson to me on the impact Myles Garrett could have on the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. \u2014 Welcome to West Coast Read, a weekly spin around what\u2019s happening in the NFL on the Left Coast. And to kick things off, we start with a conversation I had with new Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and his plans for Justin Herbert. McDaniel displayed flashes of excellence as<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}