It was a jam-packed Friday at The Bolt as the Chargers held Day 1 of rookie minicamp, which also meant the chance to chat with coordinators Mike McDaniel, Chris O’Leary and Ryan Ficken.
All in all, the trio combined to speak at the podium for nearly a hour, with McDaniel occupying almost half that time in his second press conference since being hired in January.
Here are five takeaways from McDaniel, O'Leary and Ficken:
1. McDaniel raves about Herbert
McDaniel was clearly fired up on January 27 when he detailed why he took the Offensive Coordinator role with the Chargers.
Just over 100 days later (101 to be exact), McDaniel was still raving about his first few months with the organization.
"I feel very confident in my decision-making. I feel like I'm really smart at this point," McDaniel said with a smile. "It's exceeded expectations, what you're looking for professionally, just to have the opportunity to come to a place that's highly motivated, that's as exuberant about getting better and chasing, maxing out our potential.
"Working with the front office, the coaching staff, it might be as good of a coaching staff as I've ever been on," he added. "Just a very focused [group] — focused in May, focused in April, football team — to make a jump in their game and really do something with this opportunity. It's been awesome."
Perhaps the biggest reason for McDaniel's excitement? His early rapport with Justin Herbert.
McDaniel gave plenty of long-winded answers about the Chargers quarterback on Friday, but what's stood out to McDaniel the most is Herbert's ability to pick up the scheme.
"I had very, very lofty expectations. Justin's up there as one of the main motivating factors of moving my family here," McDaniel said. "Lofty expectations and I can say with absolute certainty he's exceeded those. Just very motivated and focused.
"The meetings have been great, we've been able to meet for about three weeks, but getting on the field this last week, being able to do things, with a reasonable expectation, I'm thinking are going to take, new things he hasn't done before maybe will take three to four weeks, maybe take all spring, and there's things he's been able to get done and master in the span of three to four days," McDaniel continued.
"I've been very impressed, very motivated to continue the process because so far, so good," McDaniel added. "We're at the very beginning stages of the race, but at this stage I couldn't be happier with that working relationship and the process moving forward with him."
McDaniel later explained how Herbert has responded to a myriad of challenges thrown at him.
"Players are at the mercy of what their coaches can offer to challenge him," McDaniel said. "By nature, I kind of look at my job, inherent to that, I'm supposed to make people better and you do that through challenge.
"I've challenged him to do things that he hasn't done up until this point, did a ton of those Week 1 on the field [during the offseason program]," McDaniel added. "As you'd expect, he enjoyed that process, it's been so interesting how bold he can be trying new things that typically elite performers don't like to try new things, or takes them out of your comfort zone, you don't feel as good, the result isn't good.
"He's dropped the burden of sort of something that can hold him back, he's really let go, tried new things. It's been very impressive, but he's worked through it and been able to find the beginning level of something that he can master very, very fast," McDaniel added.
So, what exactly have Herbert and McDaniel been working on of late?
Quick and timely throws, something McDaniel brought up back in January.
For reference, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, Hebert's time to throw during the 2025 season was 2.9 seconds, which ranked 32nd among all quarterbacks. That elongated time was likely due to the absence of Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, which led Herbert to be scramble and be on the run more last season.
McDaniel on Friday said he's emphasized Herbert to get the ball out in 2.4 seconds or less, a time McDaniel said usually produces a completion percentage around 80 percent.
Getting the ball out faster, McDaniel explained, will do two things: limit an opponents' pass rush and create more chances for yards after the catch.
"In those successful 2.4 plays, how do you do things where you can delegitimize pass rush based upon the timing in which you get the ball out? Challenged him in some stuff he's already been successful with in those shorter throws, changed his footwork and asked him to do things, based on looking at every pass he's had, he's never done," McDaniel said.
"Whether it's changing his feet and asking him to get the ball out in a quicker rhythm, or by and large, we're much more footwork-driven in terms of our feet, being able to tell us when to progress and how to continuously get the ball out on the frontend of the pass rushes work," McDaniel continued.
"Realistically, whether it's been changing his feet of having his eyes in a different place and different focus and being able to throw with a quicker drop, two different routes at the same time in the same exact footwork, he's attacked those challenges," McDaniel added. "All those nuances are things in the pass game is what we're diving into as we speak."
To be clear, there is still a long way to go as Herbert and McDaniel get to know each other and dive into the new offensive scheme.
There are still Organized Team Activity (OTA) practices that begin past this month, plus a mandatory minicamp in June and training camp in July.
As McDaniel mentioned above, "we're at the very beginning stages of the race."
But the early returns seem to indicate that we could potentially see a dynamic and efficient Chargers offense in 2026 with Herbert and McDaniel at the helm.
"We're looking to master and be elite at everything that we do and being able to own the position in a new way," McDaniel said. "Being able for him to own the position a way he never has and ultimately, for it to be obvious to everyone around that he's playing the best football of his career."
2. Praise for Johnston, WR room
One position group McDaniel gushed about Friday afternoon?
The Chargers wide receiver room. More specifically, how impressed he's been by Quentin Johnston.
"In the three to four weeks I've been working with these guys, you'd be hard pressed to find a guy that's grown more, specifically in the last week, than Q," McDaniel said. "I think he's a guy that has some traits in his game that are similar to some very powerful, explosive, productive receivers I've had in the past, namely Julio and Andre. We're pushing him and he has high expectations for himself as well."
Yes, McDaniel was referencing Julio Jones and Andre Johnson here.
That's high praise for a player who has tallied 106 receptions for 1,446 yards and 16 touchdowns over the past two seasons, with his eight scores in back-to-back seasons leading the Bolts each year.
Ladd McConkey, meanwhile, is the player McDaniel has in mind when talking about those quick throws mentioned above.
"Ladd is a guy that, coming out, I really saw as a perfect fit for the multitude of ways you can get him the ball and how he takes low risk throws and completions and turns them into long gains and his ability to separate versus man coverage," McDaniel said.
A pair of 2025 rookies — Tre' Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith — have also caught McDaniel's eye.
"Both Tre' and Dre, super fired up about them. Tre' has got a more juice than I even knew coming out, and I was really high on him coming out," McDaniel said.
All in all, McDaniel said Friday that he foresees everyone in that room elevating their game in 2026.
"I talked to the receivers directly the other day that I think, overall, there's a ton of meat on the bone for the entire room," McDaniel said. "So, the expectations of working on the tools to their game and the way they're working on it and collectively how they do the little things, extrapolated to how they do everything, I think it's a reasonable expectation to exceed whatever their career highs are across the board in that room.
"I think there's a lot of untapped potential in a lot of their skillsets across the board," McDaniel added.
He later continued: "It's easy for me to challenge them, and they've risen to the challenge, of having the expectation that the Chargers receiving core and that room is thought of differently in a year than it is this year."
3. O'Leary taking charge as new DC
McDaniel isn't the only new Chargers coordinator on staff for 2026.
The Chargers added O'Leary as the Defensive Coordinator in February, marking a reunion as he was the Bolts safeties coach in 2024. O'Leary was then the DC at Western Michigan in 2025.
How would O'Leary assess his first three months on the job?
"Incredible. It's been a lot of fun, a lot more fun since the players got back for Phase One and Phase Two. But the buy in has been incredible, the culture that's in place with Coach Harbaugh, the addition of Mike with the offense, Coach Fick and then what we're doing on defense, it feels like we're building something special," O'Leary said.
Of course, O'Leary admitted it's a different feeling around The Bolt this time considering he's no longer a position coach.
His task now is maintaining (or elevating) the standard set by Jesse Minter, who is now the Ravens Head Coach, while also putting his own stamp on the defense.
"The familiarity and the relationships in place are pretty powerful," O'Leary said. "Just walking in and you've been through adversity, you've been through a full season together so they know what you're going to being on a day-in and day-out basis. And I feel the same way about them.
"So, you start from a further point than maybe I started at Western Michigan not knowing anybody. So, that's been really helpful in getting this thing off the ground. But there's also an element of, 'Hey, I'm a defensive coordinator now and I'm in front of a whole room, a whole unit,' so there's still a bit of a learning curve," O'Leary continued.
"But the buy in has been incredible. Full speed ahead with everything," O'Leary added. "We're showing them why we're doing things, they're trusting us so we've been able to really launch these last 12 days we had the guys."
O'Leary on Friday estimated that the Chargers have put in "30 percent of the defense or so" at this point of the offseason.
Which is exactly where he wants it.
"We're trying to build this thing conceptually, put in the calls, so it's a process," O'Leary said. "It's step-by-step and really planned out and I think we're exactly where we need to be right now."
4. Khalil Mack's constant impact
Back in February, one of O'Leary's initial tasks on his to-do list was look at the Chargers 2025 defense on film.
He simply kept noticing how Khalil Mack was still playing an at exceptional level in Year 12.
"When we sat in there and talked about the plan moving forward when I first got here, he was one of the first guys I brought up," O'Leary said. "Because when I watch his film — I came in and tried to have an open mind when I watched the film from last year and evaluated players — so when I watched him, I don't want to say I expected a dip, but knowing his age and knowing how great he's been, I thought maybe there'd be some dip and some drop-off and I just didn't see it.
"I felt he was just as dominant against the run, just as effective versus pass," O'Leary added. "When you piece that with knowing who he is as a leader, as a flag bearer for our culture on defense, he was one of the first guys I was pounding the table to bring back. We're fired up to have him."
Mack signed a one-year deal with the Chargers in free agency as he is now readying for Year 13. He had 5.5 sacks over 11 games in 2025 despite suffering an elbow injury in Week 2 that cost him four games.
O'Leary didn't want to get into specifics Friday, but he did say he's already thought about how he could use Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and 2026 first-round pick Akheem Mesidor on the field together.
But having a player like Mack back in the locker room, O'Leary said, will surely pay dividends when it's time for games to start.
"I try to set the vision and lead the coaches of where we're going, but it's the players' defense and the players' team," O'Leary said. "Having Khalil, Derwin, [James] Daiyan [Henley] … guys that are vocal and really good players that people respect on and off the field and understand and believe in what we're doing, it's priceless."
5. Ficken fired up for Phillips' return
Besides Mack, the Chargers had a number of key players who were free agents earlier this offseason.
Ficken made no secret Friday that his "No. 1 priority" was bringing Del’Shawn Phillips back.
Mission accomplished, as Phillips re-signed with the Bolts in free agency after earning Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2025.
"Obviously, he's an elite player and we saw him do it at the highest level and be one of the top special teams players, not just here or in the AFC West, but throughout the whole league," Ficken said. "Just what he does, not only on the field, but in the meeting room, off the field, in the locker room, it was a no brainer.
"Hats off to Joe Hortiz and Jim for getting that thing done. Just really fired up," Ficken added.
Phillips led the Bolts in special teams snaps (352) in 2025 and finished second in the league in special teams tackles with 24, which was a single-season franchise record.
