Episode Summary: 2026 NFL Coaching Changes (June 24, 2026)
Adam Levitan, Evan Silva, and John Daigle run through all 19 NFL coaching changes for 2026 and what each one means for fantasy. The Chargers hiring Mike McDaniel is the most consequential change in the league — Justin Herbert, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Omarion Hampton all get massive scheme upgrades. The Eagles’ addition by subtraction of Kevin Patullo makes Jalen Hurts one of the more mispriced quarterbacks at 80 overall. And Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas turns Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty into the focal points of the offense. Plus Brian Daboll’s history of funneling targets to a rookie alpha (Carnell Tate), Kevin Stefanski’s tight end-friendly track record (right after Kyle Pitts got a 3-year, $54 million extension), and David Blough’s plan to get Terry McLaurin the ball 10 times a game.
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Key Topics
- Biggest impact changes: Chargers (Mike McDaniel), Eagles (Sean Mannion), Raiders (Klint Kubiak), Steelers (Mike McCarthy), Titans (Brian Daboll), Cardinals (Mike LaFleur/Nathaniel Hackett)
- Other notable changes: Falcons (Kevin Stefanski), Ravens (Declan Doyle), Browns (Todd Monken), Lions (Drew Petzing), Giants (Matt Nagy), Jets (Frank Reich), Dolphins (Bobby Slowik), Bucs (Zac Robinson), Commanders (David Blough), Broncos (Davis Webb), Seahawks (Brian Flores), Bills (Joe Brady), Chiefs (Eric Bieniemy)
Takeaway #1 (1:02): Mike McDaniel to the Chargers is the most consequential coaching change in the NFL
- Adam Levitan: This is just such a drastic change. Mike McDaniel does run the ball, but Greg Roman was an old-school football boomer who chews glass, and McDaniel is the young bro with the Lululemon joggers and the Johnny Versus sunglasses. Going from an old-school style to a modern, advanced, creative, talent-maximizing offense is going to be a huge change for the Chargers.
- Evan Silva: Brandon Thorn has harped on how good McDaniel is at maximizing the offensive line he deals with. Thorn actually thought Aaron Brewer, the undersized, undrafted Dolphins center, should have won Protector of the Year over Joe Thuney because of the way McDaniel utilized him. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are coming back for the Chargers, the interior of their offensive line gets better, and schematically, they are going to be so much better with McDaniel calling plays. Ladd McConkey is an ideal McDaniel-style receiver. Evan is also excited about Keaton Mitchell and thinks Omarion Hampton could wind up scoring a bunch of touchdowns.
- Daigle: The league has averaged seven yards per attempt over the last decade. Until last year when Brock Purdy was injured, Kyle Shanahan had produced a quarterback who averaged at least eight yards per throw every year since 2015 with Matt Ryan. McDaniel left Shanahan to join the Dolphins in 2022, and in the last four years, only the 49ers, Ravens, Lions, and Bills have averaged more yards per play than the Dolphins. Even Tua Tagovailoa has been eighth in yards per attempt since 2022. This is the tree that now gets to work with Justin Herbert. Quentin Johnston was more like Brandon Aiyuk coming out and failed as a rookie because the Chargers tried to use him like Chase Claypool. Daigle expects Herbert, coming off a career year in rushing points per game, to have a massive season above ADP.
Takeaway #2 (6:09): The Eagles’ addition by subtraction of Kevin Patullo makes Jalen Hurts one of the more mispriced QBs
- Adam Levitan: Sean Mannion literally just finished playing — he was with the Vikings and Seahawks playing QB in 2023, then on the Packers’ staff for two years. So Adam does not have a lot to say about Mannion specifically. What he does know is that Kevin Patullo is gone, and Patullo was a big part of the 2025 problem. Hitch routes on every single play, not using pass catchers horizontally. Jeff Stoutland, on the way out, made comments that threw the Patullo scheme under the bus, which Adam thought was telling. Addition by subtraction is a huge thing here.
- Daigle: One of the worst things you can do as a play-caller is not understand the talent you have and put them in the wrong positions, and that is pretty much what Patullo did across the board. Last season for Saquon Barkley — 1,400 yards in the box score, but a significantly less explosive player than he showed the year before. It revolved around Hurts engineering the offense with a career-low scramble rate and the fewest designed runs per game PFF has charted him with for his career. Daigle expects those numbers to come back up, which naturally elevates everyone. Dallas Goedert is one of the bigger winners — when it has just been Goedert and DeVonta Smith without A.J. Brown, Goedert has put up close to top-five tight end numbers.
- Adam Levitan: The rumors in Philly were that Hurts told Patullo he did not want to run as much. Adam thinks Mannion gets in here and tells him otherwise. Hurts is one of the more mispriced quarterbacks right now — he goes closer to 80 overall on DraftKings, and he could run for 15 touchdowns. He has done that almost every season except this past one. Even with the Eagles’ disaster in 2025, Hurts still finished seventh in fantasy points per game at quarterback.
Takeaway #3 (10:20): Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas turns Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty into the focal points
- Adam Levitan: One of the ways ETR got on Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a big way last year was just blindly betting on Klint Kubiak. The Seahawks had the biggest dud in the game in Shane Waldron during JSN’s rookie year. Then they had Ryan Grubb. They bring in Kubiak, and he massively unlocks JSN. ETR also had Kubiak humming in New Orleans at the start of that year before the injuries hit.
- Evan Silva: Kubiak was the 49ers’ passing-game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan in the same year Sam Darnold was San Francisco’s backup quarterback. They linked up. They get back together in Seattle and go win a Super Bowl. Really impressive track record of maximizing — getting the ball in the hands of his best players. That is something Shanahan has been so great at doing — smashing the button to get the ball to Julio Jones, Christian McCaffrey. That is going to be the name of the game for Bowers and Jeanty as the fulcrum of the Raiders’ offense.
- Daigle: The Rams and Seahawks last year were the only offenses operating from under center on over half their plays, which entails a learning curve for Fernando Mendoza since he took literally five snaps from under center throughout his college career. But Darnold is coming off a career-high mark in yards per attempt with Kubiak, and the first quarterback taken in every class since 2017 has made at least 10 starts. Daigle believes we will see Mendoza in the second half of the year. He is closing his eyes, holding his nose, and betting on Kubiak. Last year, 80% of the Raiders’ touchdowns — a league high — came through the air, so expect more rushing touchdowns for Jeanty, who was a very good player whose offensive line failed him.
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About Establish The Run
Establish The Run was founded by Adam Levitan and Evan Silva, two of the most respected analysts in fantasy football and sports betting. ETR delivers high-quality, actionable analysis across season-long, best ball, DFS, and props.
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