EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said Monday that the Los Angeles Chargers are trying to get "Year 2 results in Year 1" with quarterback Justin Herbert in McDaniel's offense and that he believes Herbert is already "far past where quarterbacks are usually in Year 1."
"He's been everything that I'd hoped and more," McDaniel said.
There is precedent for quarterbacks making significant jumps in Year 2 of this offensive system. Tua Tagovailoa, the former Miami Dolphins quarterback, made his only Pro Bowl in Year 2 under McDaniel.
Matt Ryan, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, won his only MVP in his second year under then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, when McDaniel was an offensive assistant.
McDaniel said he has become aware of this trend in his offenses. The first year in the system isn't necessarily a struggle, but it often precedes a career year. He has tried to make that transition unnecessary in Los Angeles. Between when he got the job in January and the Chargers' first on-field work months later, he adjusted his meeting structure and gave players "challenges" with formations and alignments he had never used before.
"They've been up for the challenge," McDaniel said. "And that's because we're not having a year off -- we're trying to be our best right now. So we have to put in the prerequisite work to get that done."
There was a list of "probably about 500 things," McDaniel said, that he wanted to adjust in his coaching style to make the Year 2 jump happen in Year 1. The result is the "most tightly woven" offensive install he has put together in his career, with the hope that it's simple enough for players to hit the ground running this season.
So far, Herbert has made it easy.
"I can't say enough positive things," McDaniel said.
Among the first challenges McDaniel gave Herbert was changing his shotgun stance. Most quarterbacks operate from the shotgun with their throwing side foot forward, but McDaniel challenged Herbert to change that age-old practice.
McDaniel most recently coached this switch to Tagovailoa, who, when McDaniel arrived, had failed to live up to expectations as the fifth overall selection in the 2020 draft.
In 2022, McDaniel's first season as Miami's head coach, the offense finished sixth in total yards, the first time the Dolphins ranked in the top 10 in the category since 1995. The Dolphins led the NFL in total offense in 2023 as Tagovailoa finished with a league-leading 4,624 passing yards.
McDaniel was also part of the staff that switched Ryan's footwork. Ryan was named a first-team All-Pro and led the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance.
McDaniel has been doing this to quarterbacks since he was an assistant in Houston two decades ago, learning from then-offensive coordinator Shanahan that the adjustment helps quarterbacks get the ball out quicker to receivers in space.
The adjustment looked clunky during the Chargers' minicamp in June, but since training camp started, it has been seamless. Herbert has looked comfortable hitting receivers early and in stride, often drawing praise from McDaniel.
On Sunday, Herbert threw a pass up and over the arms of safety RJ Mickens and into the hands of tight end David Njoku for a roughly 40-yard completion. McDaniel ran around screaming, "F--- yeah, 10."
It was the latest example of McDaniel giving Herbert a challenge and Herbert executing it flawlessly. This time, he asked Herbert to read the post safety, Mickens, early in his drop and throw the ball with anticipation and without an extra hitch.
"It was the first time that he had kind of recognized and been able to do the read super fast like we've been talking about," McDaniel said. "Those types of things. A first time it is becoming a regular occurrence. Every practice, there's something new that we're working on that he's trying to get done."