5 Key Chargers Questions for the 2026 Offseason

Feb 09, 2026 at 09:00 AM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

The 2026 offseason has arrived for the Chargers ... and the rest of the NFL.

The Bolts again went 11-6 and made the playoffs in Jim Harbaugh's second season, but both Harbaugh and Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz said that standard isn't good enough.

"There's always a sense of urgency," Harbaugh said. "I mean, that is a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly thing. I'd answer the question this way: we feel like we have a lot to build on. Just keep moving forward with urgency. Aggressively attacking it."

Hortiz added: "We want to win the Super Bowl, so we got to get better."

With that in mind, here are five key offseason questions facing the Chargers.

1. How does Offensive Coordinator Mike McDaniel elevate Justin Herbert?

It's only early February, but the Chargers might have already made their biggest move of the entire offseason by hiring Mike McDaniel as Offensive Coordinator.

McDaniel is brilliant, creative and cutting edge, all traits that were easy to glean in his 40-minute introductory press conference.

But the biggest question McDaniel repeatedly was asked in late January was how he'll work with Justin Herbert.

McDaniel laid out a multi-faceted plan, with the biggest takeaway being that he actually wants to take pressure off of Herbert's plate on a weekly basis.

"It can be taxing over time for a player to necessitate an incredible play too often to be able to score points and win football games," McDaniel said.

Herbert had to play hero ball too often in 2025, a formula that eventually caught up to the Bolts in the postseason.

We won't see the initial impact of McDaniel's offense on Herbert until the spring when the Chargers start Organized Team Activity practices. And we'll really get a sense of it during training camp.

Until then, McDaniel will spend the next few months building the Bolts offensive system in his office — a thought that should already have Chargers fans fired up for 2026.

2. How does Chris O'Leary transition as the Chargers Defensive Coordinator?

The Chargers introduced Chris O'Leary as their new defensive coordinator last week.

O'Leary replaces Jesse Minter, who recently departed to be the Ravens Head Coach.

But if you listened to O'Leary's press conference and peeled the layers of his answers, it almost sounded like Minter from two years ago.

"I have the confidence in myself that the foundation of this defense, what makes this defense special and different, I own those areas," O'Leary said. "I feel I have a mastery of those areas."

O'Leary is not new around here as he was the Chargers safeties coach on Minter's staff in 2024 before spending the 2025 season as Western Michigan's Defensive Coordinator.

He also views Minter as a mentor as the two have known each other since 2010 when they first crossed paths at Indiana State. O'Leary was a player and Minter was on the defensive staff.

As O'Leary transitions into his new role, it certainly helps that he is familiar with most of the defensive personnel, especially in the secondary.

And based on what O'Leary said last week, it seems as if he's going to run the same scheme that Minter did. After all, O'Leary essentially ran a very similar version of the system in 2025 at Western Michigan.

To sum it up, the Chargers are hoping the move from Minter to O'Leary includes very little drop off from the standard the defense has played at over the past two seasons.

If that happens, the Bolts should once again have one of the league's top units again this season.

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3. How do the Chargers spend salary cap space?

As of Monday morning, the Chargers are projected to have around $83 million in cap space for 2026.

But there's a good chance the Bolts try to spend a good chunk of that number on their own players rather than splashing around in the frenzy that is the free agency pool in mid-March.

Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz said as much at his year-end presser in mid-January.

"We do have to be calculated, have to be smart. We have to be all-in on the player and believe in the player," Hortiz said. "We'll spend money, but we're going to spend money internally, too, because there's a lot of guys we'd like to have back.

Defensive tackle Teair Tart has already agree to a multi-year contract extension.

Other internal free agents that stand out include Khalil Mack, Odafe Oweh, Zion Johnson, Tony Jefferson, Keenan Allen and Josh Harris.

The next five weeks will be telling to see how many internal free agents the Chargers can bring back ... and who they end up targeting from other teams.

4. Do Tuli Tuipulotu or Derwin James get a contract extension?

We put these players in a separate category because they are under contract for 2026 and aren't slated to be free agents this spring.

But Tuli Tuipulotu or Derwin James — two key defensive pieces for the Chargers — each only have one year left on the respective contracts.

Tuipulotu, of course, is entering the final season of his rookie contract after being a 2023 second-round pick out of USC.

The 23-year-old was an effective player in his first two seasons in the league while racking up 13.0 sacks and 19 tackles for loss.

But Tuipulotu took his game to another level in 2025 with 13.0 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and 23 quarterback hits. His massive season led to Pro Bowl honors and also being named to the Pro Football Writers of America's All-AFC Team.

James, meanwhile, signed a massive multi-year contract extension in August 2022 that runs through the 2026 season. He is currently slated to be a free agent in 2027.

James' impact on the Bolts is well known.

Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh routinely refers to James' leadership as the standard in the entire locker room.

And James remains an elite player on the field, too, with back-to-back, Second-Team All-Pro campaigns in 2024 and 2025.

To be clear, the Chargers don't need to figure out contract extensions with players who aren't going to be free agents next month. Tuipulotu and James fall into that group, as do Daiyan Henley and Quentin Johnston.

But it's worth keeping an eye on whether or not they do.