Mike McDaniel was scheduled to interview for the Bills’ head coaching vacancy on Friday, but he decided to withdraw from consideration before the two sides met, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
McDaniel, 42, has interviewed for several head coach and offensive coordinator jobs in the last few weeks. In backing out of his interview with the Bills, he has narrowed his options down to the Chargers and the Raiders. The Chargers are planning to hire McDaniel as their next offensive coordinator, unless the Raiders do not offer their head coaching job to him. McDaniel has only met with Las Vegas’ top brass once, but the interview did take place in person.
Early in the hiring cycle, McDaniel reportedly preferred an offensive coordinator opportunity with a stronger team rather than a head coaching job with a weaker one. After the Bills fired Sean McDermott, Buffalo immediately became one of the top destinations for potential head coaches, making it somewhat of a surprise that McDaniel backed out of the running. Perhaps he believed that the job would ultimately go to another candidate and preferred to focus his attention on his remaining suitors.
The Raiders, however, do not seem like a particularly desirable destination unless McDaniel is committed to a major rebuild of a roster that lacks many long-term pieces. Working with projected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza – along with the rest of the team’s significant draft capital and future cap space – could be enticing, but the Raiders have been stuck in the mud for years. If McDaniel is looking to make his next head coaching opportunity stick, he might continue to wait out the market until the right job comes along in the next few offseason.
In the meantime, the Chargers’ OC gig is a solid opportunity for McDaniel to work with Justin Herbert, who has played under a revolving door of suboptimal offensive architects and play-callers in his career. McDaniel could finally allow Herbert to thrive within the Chargers’ offense rather than in spite of it.