It seemed like the stars were aligning for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to land Mike McDaniel as the team's next offensive coordinator, but it wasn't meant to be.
Rather than the Tennessee Titans, who emerged as a team that made sense after hiring Robert Saleh, it was the Los Angeles Chargers that swooped in and stole McDaniel away. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Chargers brought McDaniel in for an interview and didn't let him leave without a deal in place.
That's probably what the Bucs should have done, but to be fair the Chargers weren't very high on the list of teams that seemed like a threat to make a move.
Buccaneers miss out on hiring Mike McDaniel, but there's another strong candidate to consider
Aside from the Titans, another place that seemed like a good landing spot for McDaniel was Detroit. The Lions fired Joe Morton after the season ended and are among the teams in the tier of Super Bowl contenders that McDaniel could have joined to take to the next level.
Instead, the Lions hired Drew Petzing and took themselves out of the running for McDaniel.
Even with the Saleh connection in Tennessee, it seemed like the best landing spot for McDaniel was in Tampa. The weapons the Bucs have far outweigh anything any other team was offering -- until the Chargers entered the chat.
In Los Angeles, McDaniel will get to work with Justin Herbert, Omarion Hampton, and a cast of other offensive weapons that will surely be added to now that he's there. He also gets to link up with Jim Harbaugh to help rehab his coaching reputation, which is a hard bargain to drive against.
The Bucs plan seemed to be bringing McDaniel in and then making him the heir to Todd Bowles, but this move with the Chargers implies he'll want to keep his options open. It's also hard not to feel a little jaded for not being picked by McDaniel, who was widely seen as a steal for any team looking for an offensive coordinator.
With McDaniel off the board, the Bucs' attention now turns to Zac Robinson. He was a name to watch before Miami fired McDaniel is one of only a select few candidates the Bucs have brought in for an in-person interview.