3 OC options Eagles should consider after Chargers hire Mike McDaniel

When news broke that Mike McDaniel intended to sign a contract with the Los Angeles Chargers to become Jim Harbaugh’s new offensive coordinator, it left the Philadelphia Eagles with one less option on their proverbial wishlist.

Taking to social media to comment on the news, ESPN NFL Reporter Jeff Darlington noted that the Eagles did, in fact, have McDaniel as their top option to replace Kevin Patullo and would now have to look for another option, just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who also pursued the former Miami Dolphins head coach.

Does it stink to see McDaniel choose to coach Justin Herbert over Jalen Hurts? Yes, while some fans questioned the relationship between McDaniel and Vic Fangio, or noted the hot-and-cold nature of his offense, there’s no question that when the Dolphins were on over the past few years, they were among the best offenses in all of football, even with Tua Tagovialoa under center.

Fortunately, while the Eagles might not secure their top option on the open market, they didn’t get the top coach when they hired Doug Pederson, or Nick Sirianni, for that matter, and they won a Super Bowl with both coaches running the show. With veteran head coaches and young offensive minds alike still on the board, the Eagles could still leave the cycle with an exciting new coach on their roster and a bright, bright future heading into the 2026 NFL season.

Brian Daboll

Of all the different options left on the open market, the one with the most Eagles connections – outside of former coaches like Pederson or Frank Reich – has to be Brian Daboll.

On the way through his coaching career, Daboll worked with Jalen Hurts at Alabama, oversaw WR coach Sirianni as the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, and coached Saquon Barkley to multiple 1,000-yard seasons before jumping ship from the New York Giants to South Philadelphia.

Coming to prominence as the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator during Josh Allen’s early career from 2018-21, Daboll helped to turn a toolsy quarterback from Wyoming into a future MVP, with his overall production falling off in the years since Buffalo moved away from his offensive scheme. While Daboll didn’t have the same level of success in New York during his run atop the Giants, with the team amassing a 20-40-1 record over his tenure, his offense remained plucky in a way Patullo never seemed to match, as highlighted by a monster Thursday Night Football win over the Birds on Prime.

With head coaching interest from multiple teams and even more offensive coordinator jobs to fill, Daboll could also spurn Philadelphia for a “better” gig, but if he were to choose the Eagles, it could produce very good results this fall, even if he’ll be right back on the market next winter when teams are looking for head coaches once more.

Bobby Slowik

When news broke that Kellen Moore was going to take his Super Bowl ring and fly down to New Orleans to coach the Saints, Bobby Slowik was one of the hot external names many thought the Eagles could target as their next offensive coordinator.

Beginning his NFL coaching career in 2011 after a career at wide receiver at Michigan Tech, Slowik initially worked on the defensive side of the ball with the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers before transitioning to offense in 2019. From there, he worked his way up the 49ers’ coaching hierarchy, topping off as the team’s offensive passing game coordinator before being hired by the Houston Texans as their offensive coordinator in 2023.

Like McDaniel, Slowik took a Kyle Shanahan-style offense with him to a new team, and it initially worked, but in 2024, CJ Stroug struggled, and as a result, he was relieved of his duties, joining the Dolphins as their senior passing game coordinator in a reunion of former 49ers assistants.

If the Eagles were interested in bringing over McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator, it makes sense that they would also interview Slowik, who is only 38 and has coached under the former Dolphins coach at two different spots along his journey. Factor in a two-year stint working for Pro Football Focus between his Washington and San Francisco gigs, and  Slowik might just be the most interesting NFL assistant on the market the Eagles could pursue to revamp their offensive game.

Charlie Weis Jr.

Of the coaches the Eagles have shown interest in so far, the least conventional has been Charlie Weis Jr., the former Ole Miss offensive coordinator who was hired onto Lane Kiffin’s staff when he moved to LSU back in January.

The son of the former Notre Dame and Kentucky head coach, Weis Jr. almost exclusively coached at the college football level, spending just one year as an offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons under Steve Sarkisian in 2017 before joining Lane Kiffin’s staff at Florida Atlantic as an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. From there, Weis Jr. pretty much stuck with Kiffin as they both rose up the college football ranks, moving to South Florida and then Ole Miss before being hired at LSU before the College Football Playoffs, while Weis Jr. was allowed to coach the Rebels’ offense in the CFP.

While it hasn’t always been easy, Weis Jr. is only 32 and has proven he can lead some of the best offenses in the nation when he’s given autonomy to run the show. Both Ole Miss and LSU wanted to keep Weis Jr. before he chose to stick with Kiffin, and the Eagles reportedly wanted to hire him too during the 2025 college football season, according to Bleeding Green Nation.

Weis Jr. coached Jaxson Dart into a first-round pick, turned Trinidad Chambliss into a certified SEC winner after beginning his college career at Ferris State, and could be the kind of coach that brings new ideas to an Eagles’ offense that has too often relied on a stead diet of out routes and a rushing game goosed up by having the league’s best offensive line. Though he, too, may end up looking for a head coaching gig in 2027, for at least one season, the Eagles could have an elite young offensive mind running the show.

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