If you're a Washington Commanders fan who is salivating at the thought of Mike McDaniel being the team's next offensive coordinator, you still might not want it to happen badly enough.
At this point, the idea of McDaniel becoming the next offensive coordinator of the Commanders may have reached higher levels of urgency than the Duffer brothers coming up with an alternate ending to season five of Stranger Things after ConformityGate.
Thankfully, Dan Quinn has a lengthy history with McDaniel. Thankfully, the Commanders have a strong connection in the front office with general manager Adam Peters, who was with McDaniel in San Francisco. But beyond just the three degrees of separation between the Commanders' brain trust and McDaniel, it's McDaniel's ability to completely transform the running game that could make landing him the most essential move of Washington's entire offseason.
Mike McDaniel would give the Commanders' offense exactly what they've wanted, and have been missing
If DQ wants the Shanahan run game, the zone blocking, all of it, Mike McDaniel immediately becomes Washington's top offensive coordinator option pic.twitter.com/8bazK2vpze
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 8, 2026
This era of the NFL has been largely dominated by the quarterback position. Patrick Mahomes changed the way defenses have been defending the pass because of his 50-touchdown season back in 2018, and the fact that the Chiefs' offense was absolutely blowing the top off of defenses left and right.
Since that time, defenses have been trying to limit the deep ball by pivoting to much more two-high safety looks. As a response, offenses have had to adjust with quicker passes, relying on yards after the catch, and there's also been a renaissance of the running back position along with it.
And frankly, there might not be a better running game coordinator in the NFL than Mike McDaniel.
McDaniel's four years as a run game coordinator with the 49ers led to his promotion to offensive coordinator for the 2021 season, after which he earned a head coaching gig with the Miami Dolphins. And we saw the work McDaniel was able to do in Miami both with Tua Tagovailoa (before injuries took their toll) and the running game, even this past season.
That running game for the Dolphins has been constant and devastating with McDaniel at the helm, with so many different players getting involved. Just look at the first three years of De'Von Achane's career with the Dolphins, where he's racked up over 4,300 yards from scrimmage and 35 total touchdowns.
Bringing in McDaniel was a no-brainer anyway, but the deeper you dig into the potential transformation of the offense with him at the helm, the more devastating it would be if it doesn't happen. Dan Quinn and Adam Peters need to make it so.